Former UEFA President Michel Platini continues to insist his ban was ‘an injustice,’ that VAR is bad for football and Financial Fair Play ‘saved clubs from bankruptcy.’
The ex-Juventus striker had a controversial few years at the top of the sport, culminating in his 2016 ban from football-related activity to 2023 for ethics violations.
“I am engaged in the most important and righteous battle of my life. My ban was a huge injustice and I will win this fight,” said Platini at the Festival dello Sport event.
Former UEFA President Michel Platini continues to insist his ban was ‘an injustice,’ that VAR is bad for football and Financial Fair Play ‘saved clubs from bankruptcy.’
The ex-Juventus striker had a controversial few years at the top of the sport, culminating in his 2016 ban from football-related activity to 2023 for ethics violations.
“I am engaged in the most important and righteous battle of my life. My ban was a huge injustice and I will win this fight,” said Platini at the Festival dello Sport event.
“If they don’t want me, then don’t vote for me, but don’t call me corrupt. That is something I will never forgive.”
Platini also defended his actions in creating the Financial Fair Play parameters, which have caused controversy both for their application and loopholes.
“The Manchester City issue was not about FFP, but rather disciplinary matters, because they didn’t say how things were. We created it to reduce club debts and they did drop, which is just as well, because once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many would’ve gone bankrupt.
“I still maintain VAR was a bad idea, because it is not part of our philosophy, which is that mistakes are part of the game. It might’ve fixed a few issues, but it created different ones. If you use it for offside and specific lines, fine, because those are very tough to spot, but there’s no need for VAR on handling offences. That’s what the referee is there for.
“I would not have introduced VAR. I’d have done everything to show people it was a mistake. Football is a human sport for human beings, it doesn’t need television.”