But, because of this prolonged battle, FIFA and UEFA have grown annoyed at having this sprightly Swiss side highlight the loopholes in their much-touted, much-flouted rulebook, to the point that they are now threatening to ban other Swiss teams from European competition.
Enter Manchester United. After being impressively pipped to second place in their group by FC Basel, it is now being theorised that if FIFA do indeed carry out their threat to eliminate Sion’s Swiss compatriots, United could take the place of their vanquishers and face a tie with German giants, Bayern Munich.
A reprieve, another crack at glory, a massive slice of luck … are not sentiments that the hierarchy of United should be thinking. For if this eventuality was to become a reality, it would be a farcical turn of events. Imagine if United went on to win it. How would UEFA look then, knowing that the winners of their premier competition only had their chance because a plucky team from Switzerland dared to stand up to the governors of the game?
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And how would other teams feel? It is not inconceivable to imagine that they themselves may feel equally disgruntled, and Barcelona certainly carry a lot more clout than FC Sion, not to mention their money-making pull on the global scale.
If on the off chance this did all come about, and Platini was to extend an invitation to Manchester United to return to Europe’s top table, everyone involved with United should do the honourable thing and refuse; being unequivocally gracious in defeat and victory is the sign of a great sportsman, and United should heed that advice.
It has been said for years now that the Champions League and, more specifically, the Europa League need to be reformatted. Many decree it be ridiculous that the third-placed “champion” drops into the Europa League; some likened it to the beaten finalist of the League Cup being handed a reprieve by going straight into the semi-finals of The FA Cup. Tedious, but not dissimilar. In this instance though, if Basel were to be so unlucky as to be unwittingly eliminated, UEFA should do the decent thing and hand Bayern a bye into the quarter finals. Yes, they would miss out on the revenue generated from the match being broadcast, but what they lose in money, they would gain in humility, a currency which Blatter rarely, if ever, barters with.
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Man U will not and should not be reinstated back
in to the European Championship competition,
WE did not accept the charity offered after
the Munich air disaster, and so be it.
WE were defeated by a better side on the
night, and we are too big a club in world
standing to accept an offer of cheap charity
that would lay a stain on our club for years
to come.