The genie remains in the bottle. For now.

Two weeks ago, UEFA decided to do something that not enough administrators in world football do: pause for thought before making an irreversible change that could tear at the fabric of the game.

The widespread expectation was that at the UEFA’s executive committee’s last meeting in Albania, they would endorse moves to allow domestic league fixtures to be played outside of Europe – paving the way for Barcelona to face Villarreal at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium in December, and for AC Milan to meet Como at Perth’s Optus Stadium in February. The latter venture is only awaiting the regulatory green light, and is being enthusiastically backed by the Western Australian government; Milan has been forced into finding a temporary home ground because the San Siro Stadium is briefly off limits due to the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Instead, UEFA kicked the can down the road, and pledged to hold another round of consultation, including with fans, before making any decisions. So if you want tickets to watch the Serie A on Aussie soil, you’ll have to wait a little bit longer.

For those who abhor the idea, it bodes well – although previous comments from UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin suggest that they may not have legal grounds to stop it.

More than 400 fan groups across Europe have condemned the proposed “exporting” of league matches; even the nascent Football Supporters Association Australia has signed a joint letter asking FIFA’s secretary-general to intervene. One co-signatory warned a “Pandora’s box of disarray” was at risk of being opened.

UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin and FIFA president Gianni Infantino.Credit: AP

It’s an interesting debate to observe from an Australian perspective, because what is being talked about as deeply sacrilegious and dangerous over there is considered tediously normal here.

For them, it’s heresy. For us, it’s every other Saturday.

Australian teams across almost every sporting........

© The Sydney Morning Herald