The scheduling of the Socceroos' Asian Cup semi-final clash against United Arab Emirates on Tuesday in Newcastle instead of Melbourne is at best regretful and in reality an embarrassment.

It is regretful and embarrassing for the Asian Cup's local organising committee that they could not persuade the Victorian government to bid to stage a semi-final three years ago, and for the Bailieu/Napthine government that they did not give the tournament the respect it has proved to deserve.

Imagine what a great place Melbourne would be on Tuesday with Nick Kyrgios competing in the Australian Open quarter-finals on the same night the Socceroos were playing for a spot in the Asian Cup final. Credit:Getty Images

Instead, Newcastle's Hunter Stadium hosts the game, 10,000 under capacity because tickets cannot be sold for the grass banks behind the goals, and NSW has a free run at the biggest games at the business end of the tournament, with Sydney hosting the other semi-final and final.

When the scheduling was being determined for the matches and venues a few years ago, the local organisers and Football Federation Australia looked to governments to support the event by underwriting the bulk of the staging, marketing and promotional costs. The budget for staging the competition was $75 million, with state and federal governments contributing $61 million in a 50-50 split.