Even as he headed off to watch Lionel Messi’s wonderful Barcelona on Friday night, Uefa’s president was distracted by the beasts in the Beautiful Game.
“I’m afraid for the future of football,’’ said Platini. “It’s going pear-shaped. Football will always be played in the schoolyard, in the street but I’m worried about the future of professional football where there are lots of red lights flashing. There are problems with match-fixing, corruption, violence, racism, hooliganism and debts.”
Coach behaviour, too. Jose Mourinho’s poke-in-the-eye antics after the latest El Clasico flare-up saddened Platini. “I’m a player at heart, not a politician. I love the game. Barcelona against Real Madrid was a wonderful spectacle for 89 minutes and then one minute that spoiled the game between the two biggest clubs in the world.
“Everyone makes mistakes and he [Mourinho] will be punished by the disciplinary committee of the [Spanish] national association. He is perhaps the best coach in the world and the great people have to be examples.
"They have to be clean and behave beautifully. Because what about the other millions of coaches? What are they thinking, that everything is permitted?”
As the Frenchman talked over breakfast here, more sympathy flowed for his compatriot, Arsene Wenger. Arsenal’s manager is appealing against a two-match ban for passing messages to the bench via an intermediary while already suspended. “I have to support my disciplinary committee but I am not in love with this regulation,’’ conceded Platini.
“You can’t ban a coach from a stadium because with modern communication you can do what you want. You can send an SMS. There is a lot of confusion. We have a meeting next week with the elite coaches and we will discuss it.”
As for Wenger’s suspension, Platini indicated it would be upheld. “It will be postponed to the first game of the group stage. It is my job to support the disciplinary process. But we can speak about it for next season and the new regulations from 2012 to 2015.”
In 2015, Platini is expected to succeed Sepp Blatter as Fifa president and believes that the controversial Swiss is tackling the stench of corruption permeating parts of his Executive Committee. “The people who come to the Executive Committee are not chosen by the president,’’ emphasised Platini.
“If I am corrupted it is not because of Mr Blatter. All the big attacks on Fifa are mainly on other people, not on him. I know he is not an angel. He is political and he is a typical politician.
"I spoke to him in July and he told me he would do many things. He will present that to the Executive Committee in October. He has volunteered to have a revolution. If he cleans Fifa he will be remembered [positively]. That is his objective. We are here to help him.’’
Money increasingly dominates talk in footballing circles. Platini shudders slightly at the arrival of wealthy foreign owners at clubs like Manchester City and Paris St-Germain. “I don’t know where we go with this system,’’ he lamented. “If they don’t earn money they will leave and the clubs will disappear.
“I am a big fan of Real Madrid or Barcelona where the socios [members] are the voice of the club. I like the fact that the clubs belong to the fans. The only ones with that local identity are the fans. Everything else has changed: the president is foreign, the players are foreign, the coach is foreign. But they stay. Football became popular because of this identity.”
Determined to encourage responsible accounting, Uefa’s president reiterated his intent that the new Financial Fair Play rules will be enforced.
“We will not take a step back. Anyone who doesn’t respect those rules will be sanctioned [with expulsion from Europe]. The fans of clubs who don’t have money want Financial Fair Play. The fans who support clubs owned by a Qatari don’t want it.”
Also under discussion is the possibility of changing the international calendar, playing qualifiers and friendlies in two blocks during the season. “We are looking at it,’’ said Platini.
There is also pressure to ask Fifa to consider bringing the transfer-window deadline forward to July 31 before the season kicks off. “You shouldn’t change clubs after the season starts,’’ said Platini. “How can someone play for AC Milan against Juventus and then Juventus against AC Milan in the same season?”
Platini would also like Fifa to introduce a rule that ensures a player commits himself to an international team at 18, an issue with England and Ghana over Emmanuel Frimpong. “I believe you need to ask a player at 18, when he becomes an adult, which nationality he is rather than wait for a senior competitive game. People are bargaining over them.’’
Talking of bargaining, Platini wants to clamp down on the ticket touting that scarred May’s Champions League final between Manchester United and Barcelona in May.
“There were problems with the price of tickets. Don’t forget it was a proposal of the local organising committee, England (the FA). It was a mistake.’’ Platini proposes a new, cheaper category of tickets for “the real fan”.
Positive memories of that Wembley occasion remains with Platini. “We had a dream final, an excellent match with excellent players. Lionel Messi is a diamond. But every generation believes it has the best hero. Pele was considered the best in the 50s and 60s. Johan Cruyff was supposed to be the best in the 70s. Zinedine Zidane in 2000.”
A three-time European Footballer of the Year in the 80s, Platini continues to serve European football well.
“There’s nothing glamourous about being Uefa president,’’ Platini concluded. “I used to go to Fenerbahce and everyone loved me. If I go now [having expelled them from Europe], everyone will want to hang me.”
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk written by Henry Winter