Michel Platini has recently said that he needs a few months to consider whether he would take over from Sepp Blatter as head of FIFA.
Blatter himself has had a lot of criticism in his time as head of FIFA, most recently deciding to give Qatar the World Cup and then backtracking and trying to have it played during the winter. This, of course, would cause disruption to the European domestic leagues.
Whilst Blatter has come under a lot of criticism, the appointment of Platini could be harmful for English football.
Platini denies having any prejudice against the English when it comes to football, has always seemed to hold a grudge against the inventors of the sport.
The Frenchman has constantly been tweaking the rules of the game to make it more “European” and take away from its heritage. Interestingly enough, Financial Fair Play came in after Manchester City’s pursuit of Kaka in 2009.
In 2008, days before Chelsea played Juventus in the last 16, the former Juve striker told the world that he would love to give Juventus the Champions League in Rome (Source: The Mail).
Even with Platini holding Financial Fair Play as one of his greatest achievements as the head of UEFA, it hasn’t stopped him from belittling Arsene Wenger before. You would think that Platini would hold the Arsenal manager in high regard for the way in which he conducts his business in the transfer market. Yet Platini is on record as calling the fellow Frenchman “out of touch with the modern game.”
England’s failure to make Euro 2008 was of course there own fault. Platini had no concern for seeing a ‘major nation’ miss out on an international tournament.
Why Platini has such hatred towards the English is hard to say. English clubs have had a good dominance in European competitions just recently, but it appears that the tide is turning and club teams from the continent once again are domination the Champions League and Europa League. Something I’m sure that Platini will be happier to see.
If Platini were to become head of FIFA would it be detrimental to the future of the English game? Hopefully not. However, it would be a step in the wrong direction. I can be certain in saying that many English fans and football based persons would not want to see him head of football’s governing body.
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