Platini targets Old Firm sectarianism after re-election as UEFA chief

[rfcfraserrfc 262]

Michel Platini highlighted sectarianism at Old Firm derbies as he pledged to tackle violence and illegal betting in his next four years as UEFA president.

Platini, who has been re-elected unopposed as UEFA chief until 2015, said there had been 'incidents in far too many grounds around Europe' and praised the Scottish Football Association's stand against sectarianism.

He told the UEFA Congress in Paris: 'As George Peat and Stewart Regan (president and chief executive of the SFA) so rightly put it in a recent statement on behalf of the Scottish association: there is no place in football for those who transform passion into violence and pride into sectarianism.

'Every country should establish a whole battery of legal measures enabling them to ban hooligans from stadiums.

'Every country should appoint a prosecutor in charge of illegal betting and corruption in sport.

'I have started meeting the heads of state and government of countries particularly affected by this problem.

'It is important that their countries realise the seriousness of the situation and that they find a way to help us, you and their national associations.'

Platini also reiterated his belief in UEFA's financial fair play rules protecting club football.

The rules mean clubs in European competition will only be able to spend on transfers and wages what they earn in revenues.

He added: 'This project should enable us to prevent some of our most time-honoured clubs from going under because of risky management by an irresponsible few.

'In 1984 Jacques Georges (ex-UEFA president) used a phrase that I have been drumming home constantly for months and thought I had coined myself: "We all know what it means if we spend more than we earn, and in football it would mean the end of the game.:"

'So... perhaps history does sort of repeat itself after all.

'On the topic of club finances, allow me to remind you of just one figure: together, Europe's professional clubs accumulated net losses of 1.2 billion euros in 2009 alone.

'So yes, there is a huge amount of money in football, but more importantly there is a moral problem in the way this money is sometimes generated and used.

'Financial fair play is a crucial project that will enable us to clean up certain practices within our game.

'It will be implemented in full in the course of my next term and we will apply the rules with the courage and resolution for which UEFA should be known.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1368811/UEFA-chief-Michael-Platini-targets-Old-Firm-sectarianism.html

[MisterC 12,715]

Excellent article as always from the Daily Mail

[Jimfanciesthedude 25,475]

the old fanny obviously has an election coming up, as he runs his mouth about an inconsequential part of worldwide football

[laudrupforever 17]

I so wish sectarianism was the biggest problem in European football, but it's not even close.

[bombaybadboy08 15,660]

I think he should have more pressing issues than supporters singing songs at each other.

[markybear 136]

Who the fuck in their right mind re-elected him

I honestly can't stand the cunt

He's so anti British it's unreal

Plus he hates the rangers

Jeff winter for uefa president

[Peat1873 8]

Who the fuck in their right mind re-elected him

I honestly can't stand the cunt

He's so anti British it's unreal

Plus he hates the rangers

Jeff winter for uefa president

This !!

[ricksen_da_best 2,034]

Bloody joke.

Celtic fans arent offended by the billy boys, and half the shite celtic sing i try not to listen to.

Let us get on with it, what we do inside our own stadiums has nout to do with Platini.

[stuart1994 4,521]

So Platini is going to tackle a problem which is more than 200 years old, aye that'll be right

[Amac9 2,060]

This is for Platini (the French bastard!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hwqkkhz5E2w&feature=related

[Skol 401]

Nowhere in that article does he say he's targetting OF sectarianism. If anything he praises the lengths Scottish football has gone to in tackling it.

Just another shite daily mail article.

[MisterC 12,715]

Nowhere in that article does he say he's targetting OF sectarianism. If anything he praises the lengths Scottish football has gone to in tackling it.

Just another shite daily mail article.

A terrible thing to say about a fine newspaper which always tells the truth and tell things as they are

[The Hammer 11 2,817]

Platini should keep his nose out of what he doesnt understand

[clelandhattrick 8]

Platini gets pelters from idiots. He's a hero compared to Johansson and Blatter.

[Gaffbear 4,168]

Maybe tackle shocking refereeing and get rid of the 2 dummies behind the goal and bring in cameras and action replays.

Maybe tackle racism in Eastern European football and the violence that ends up with murders in Italy.

Maybe tackle corruption in footballs governing bodies.

maybe tackle the rich boys playground that is the boring Champions league and make it a competition for Champions not nearly champions.

Maybe tackle the obscene wages being handed out to players while the fans go hungry and the game dies in the lower divisions..let the money trickle through the game.

Ok stop 50,000 people in Scotland shouting at each other for 90 minutes...cos that must be priority these days

.

[markybear 136]

Platini gets pelters from idiots. He's a hero compared to Johansson and Blatter.

A hero?

For starters he's got a girls name, no.2 he's a fucking pro European, anti British wank

Hero my arse

Michelle platini

[biotechnology 2]

Well if its true, the recent TBB & Famine song redos will HAVE TO STOP.We cannot get barred from Europe or reduced points because of songs. I must admit Im actually quite disappointed with the current songbook, where is the songs for our team apart from FF.

Think about it the media are bang on if all we sing about is catholics & days gone by.

This is all coming to a head & we either meet it in 2011 or in 1690.

[Turnberry18 3,204]

A terrible thing to say about a fine newspaper which always tells the truth and tell things as they are

Your initial reply had my worried! Glad to see you were writing in jest. This has to be one of the worst newspapers ever. The 'forgers gazette'

[Britannia Bear 1]

Well if its true, the recent TBB & Famine song redos will HAVE TO STOP.We cannot get barred from Europe or reduced points because of songs. I must admit Im actually quite disappointed with the current songbook, where is the songs for our team apart from FF.

Think about it the media are bang on if all we sing about is catholics & days gone by.

This is all coming to a head & we either meet it in 2011 or in 1690.

[canadian_bear 1]

Maybe Platini should start at home. The number of violent incidents, cringeworthy banners and blatantly racist songs at French Ligue Un grounds (especially PSG) are outright shocking. However, that would require taking on teams that are not easy targets...

[*Manticore* 1,893]

Excellent article as always from the Daily Mail

Yet again Daily Mail proves itself to be the People's Paper.

[ManchestGer 351]

Maybe Platini should start at home. The number of violent incidents, cringeworthy banners and blatantly racist songs at French Ligue Un grounds (especially PSG) are outright shocking. However, that would require taking on teams that are not easy targets...

[cococfb 0]

Have i missed something? i havn't heard or seen any secterianism in the past old firm games.

TBB = not secterian - truly a song which is sng about the billy boys and most will take it in a different way when fenian is said as most do not truly know what it means and it is by no mean secterian.

Famine is over = Not secterian - a song that tells the irish to get back to their own land and to stop causing trouble and shame in Scotland.

Derrys walls = in no way secterian - its a protestant cultural song

Build my gallows = again not secterian

I do not understand these idiots when they come of with cracking down on secterian in old firms...

Whens there a fight or something its immediately classed as secterian but they never take into account that its a big derby between two of glasgows giants. if they weren't two religious clubs, id dare say the fighting would still continue.

look down England at some of their derbies. look at the fighting over the years! where they deemed secterian? i think not!

[kdc05 11]

They shoot each other in Turkey and we get targeted for singing. Down in England in recent times there was the Birmingham v Villa game where seats,flares and other shit was thrown on the pitch and a few years back there was a pitch invasion at a Sunderland v Scum united game yet our "firey encounter" with septic the other week grabs headlines and crack downs from politicians. Horse shite.

[MisterC 12,715]

Yet again Daily Mail proves itself to be the People's Paper.

Hurrah for the....um....Daily Mail