Christian Seifert: Bundesliga puts fans first, won't play abroad
Bundesliga chief executive Christian Seifert insists the German league would not contemplate staging matches abroad out of concern for supporters after the prospect of playing Premier League matches overseas arose again.
Chairmen of the English top-flight clubs discussed the plans at their most recent meeting, and - although no firm plans have yet been drawn up - the belief of those club chairmen is that they could cash in on interest overseas.
Plans for a 39th game were dropped in 2008 following widespread opposition, including from FIFA and UEFA.
Seifert is uncertain whether FIFA would countenance the idea, but was adamant it is not something that is on the Bundesliga's agenda.
"I think it's a creative idea, I'm not sure it would work with FIFA," Seifert said at the Leaders in Sport conference in London.
"We have a completely different approach about our idea of German football.
"For the financial side it would be maybe a good idea to play a matchday all over the world, but for the supporters who are visiting 34 games of that club, no matter if it's snow or rain or wind or whatever and they're travelling.
"And on that game that has the impact that the team is going to be relegated and they cannot be there, because it's in Thailand - I think this would not be an approach for the Bundesliga."
The Premier League is not alone in looking to hold games abroad.
Italy's Serie A chief confirmed on Tuesday that the Italian Super Cup clash between Juventus and Napoli will be played in Doha, Qatar on December 22, while the French Super Cup clash has taken place away from France for the last six years.
The Football Supporters' Federation announced its objection to the proposals.
In a statement on its website, fsf.org.uk, FSF wrote: "The FSF is against the proposals as they have been reported, and will be consulting with Premier League fans' groups and individuals to formulate an appropriate response.
"Once again the idea of potentially huge changes to the game has arisen without consultation with one of the groups who matters most - the fans.
"If the reaction to previous incarnations of 'Game 39' and the idea of matches abroad is anything to go by, we expect this proposal to be met with the strongest possible opposition from supporters.
"The potential impact on the value of season tickets, which would see fans of half the Premier League clubs missing out a home match, could be enormous.
"Inevitably some of the fixtures to be moved will be either local derbies or other high-profile fixtures."
There was a high-profile objection from Gary Lineker, the former England striker and Match of the Day presenter.
Lineker wrote on Twitter: "Reemergence of plans to play PL games overseas is a rotten one. Need to make game more affordable for fans not less. Disrespectful avarice (extreme greed)!"
Lineker later added on Twitter: "The @premierleague have contacted me to say 'stories are premature and there's no plan currently for international games.' Great news!"
