Arsenal News 24/7Writer: Amos 
Date:Tuesday September 23 2008
Time: 10:10AM
UK time is: 05:21:59
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Platini goes over the top
Michel Platini, French President of Uefa seems to have taken a bad tempered and highly personalised swipe at Arsene Wenger. In an interview to be published today in the French journal Dauphiné Libéré, he takes exception to Wengers support of video technology to aid refereeing decisions, claims Wenger is only interested in business and favours the big teams over small clubs.
The interview is apparently lengthy and includes discourses on Domenech`s role as French coach and match fixing amongst other topics but it is his pronouncements on Arsene that has grabbed headlines in France this morning.
The catalyst for his discourteous disdain seems to have been a question on the use of video technology to improve decision making in games. The question was posed quoting that Wenger and others had claimed Platini was acting retrogressively in not examining the use of such technology. His response was " I talk of football, he talks of business. We must stop with Wenger and everything." Implacably opposed to the use of technology he continued "I hope that arbitration video will never see the day. I will be happy that Arsene Wenger never sees it. If we use video technology there will be no referees in 10 years"
Quite why he should have been so rankled by the naming of Wenger in the question put to him is hard to understand but a little Gallic jealousy seems to be rearing it`s ugly head in the hostility with which he has responded.
The theme continues with Platini claiming that the champions league victory of Romanian minnow Cluj over Roma is not enjoyed by all.
"That is what makes football so beautiful. Arsène Wenger does not want to see the little teams beating the big teams because it takes their business away." Says Platini.
It is hard to think how he can reconcile that statement with anything anyone knows about Wenger`s attitude to football and the need for clubs to operate on the appeal and success of the game they play.
Platini`s tendency to issue edicts without supporting his objections to video technology with any analytical appraisal is always going to be less persuasive than making a proper case against it. "We must stop all this talk" is never a statement that someone charged with responsibility for the progression of the sport should utter. Certainly his position should preclude him from personalising his opinions, as he appears to have done on this occasion.
Platini may claim that he talks of football and not business but in reality he talks of politics, not football. Like many politicians he finds it hard to accept merit in others views and by personalising those views it becomes easier for him to attack the personality instead of dealing with the viewpoint. Such a tendency should automatically bar him from holding such high office - so we'd best stop talking about it then.
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Your Comments
Yet again Platini has been all too forthcoming when opening his mouth when it's not warranted. I haven't heard a current football manager say video technology is NOT a good thing. Platini's job is not affected by decisions referees make. How long are Blatter and Platini going to clobber teams just because they are from England. There isn't even anyone to complain to, they don't have to answer to anyone. It's a joke!
navydave
These comments are disgraceful, but worse than that they very ill-informed. Arsene Wenger probably cares more about the game of football than any other person in the world. So much so that we've probably missed out on a trophy or two so he can implement his philosophy of playing beautiful football at all costs. He doesn't only play to entertain, but he runs his club the way all clubs should be run. Platini is a first class ****.
Rocky7
Young Guns have picked up on this story too and have quoted it slightly differently and makes the comments sound more of a mad man. They quote him as saying 'I would not mind if the technology is introduced, just as long as Arsène Wenger is not around to see it. (Smiles)” Platini sounds like some sort of Bond villian! These comments are NOT what you expect a President of UEFA to say. He thinks that Arsene only cares about Business? FOOTBALL IS A BUSINESS YOU MORON, but Wenger is certainly not the most obssesed with money. Quickly have a look at this. scroll down to Uefa presideny and look at the pic too!! lol! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Platini#UEFA_presidency
itsup4grabsnow
We all know Platini is nothing more than an arrogant **** who deserves all our contempt! Wenger, Arsenal and England will lose no sleep over what this waste of oxygen has to say!
LondonGooner
I see your Whingeing Wenger has been at it again I would advise him to put his brain in gear before engaging his mouth. And I would courteously ask that he reads this link before making disparaging remarks about our Club.
http://www.mcfc.co.uk/default.sps?pageid=115&pagegid=%7BDBD12D53%2D8346%2D431D%2DA04F%2D5D0F8664DE80%7D&newsid=6618954&siteid=&pageno=&newscategory=&frommonth=7&fromyear=2008&tomonth=9&toyear=2008
alphieblues
this guy is a bigger ******** than Blatter. Blatter is just an idiot, dumb person of the first order, but Platini is a evil, no good to football or the world kind of human being. just can't believe a person whos the head of the european football governing body can say all such stuff..
luckys_10
You are being absurdly sensitive alphieblues. Wengers comments were based on the utterances of the ADUG spokesman at the time of the takeover. What do you expect him to do? Predict the comments of a newly appointed chairman who was not even in place at the time? The comments made by your new chairman sound eminently sensible and completely different from the bravado at the time of the takeover. It seems the wrong gear was engaged between brain and mouth by those acting for your side - not Wenger. That's why your new guy is telling everyone to forget them.
Amos.
What ever propaganda is published on your official site AB, it does not detract from the fact that your new owners are not good for the game ..... infact, if they follow through with their promises off bidding £120M for Ronaldo then they are worse than Chelsea. Completely wreckless. Now you've finished with your rant ... back to the topic!!
Rocky7
Not sure how he can say that as Arsenal are one of the few teams who actually runtheir business fantastically well and not doing a Liverpool / United with all the debt.
Platini is an idiot and couldnt make it as a manager so brown nosed his way to a political position. Not sure exactly what he knows about running a football club. Wasnt Juve run by Fiat when he signed and basically being run at a loss? Short memory from the idiot
5 times
Platini has gone beyond a joke now. Remember his constant attacks on the likes of Chelsea and Man U for building a team through debt? I remember he accussed them of cheating their way to success. How he's attacking Wenger for Arsenal being run in a financially responsible way! You can't have it both ways Platini! And he's never mentioned Real Madrid being bankrolled by the Spanish government (through taxes paid by opposition fans), or his old club Juventus for bribing referees. He'd rather focus on this moronic rejection of video technology, and the influx of foreigners into the Premier League (wasn't a problem when you wanted to play in Italy though, was it Michel?) The man has a vendetta against English football, and he remains unaccountable for his words and actions. We need to voice our opposition to his role at UEFA, as well as Blatter, however we can. This is one issue that should unite us with our Premiership rivals.
The Arsenist
Perhaps I need to see the transcript of the entire interview, but I'm not sure how video evidence and the idea of small clubs competing are interlinked. Is Platini suggesting bad decisions contributed to Cruj beating Roma? I reckon I could round up a few Chesterfield fans who would quite liked to have seen video evidence used in the 1997 F.A. Cup Semi Final with Boro when they had a perfectly good goal not given in a 3-3 draw, the goal would have taken them to the Cup Final. Would that not have seen a small team aided through video technology? Is Platini implying corruption? We all know he is planning to synthetically arrange the qualification rounds next year to ensure small teams have a better chance of getting through. The irony is that this year, without Platini's dipolomtaic and politically motivated meddling, the likes of Cruj, BATE and Famagusta got through of their own accord.
Little Dutch
Also, has anybody seen the quotes from Kevin Nolan today admitting he told Jlloyd Samuel to kick Theo on Saturday? How is that not worthy of a disrepute charge?
Little Dutch
Yeah I just saw that on Arseblog LD - That is known as a professional foul and should be given the red card it deserves.
Rocky7
totally agree Tim RE Nolan. A stupid comment from another stupid Bolton player. But nothing will happen. He's English and doesn't play for Arsenal, which means he can say whatever he likes.
itsup4grabsnow
On that point, this comes from F365, an excellent point which bears repetition:
Bolting Down The Bad News
Media management is a you-scrub-my-back-and-I-will-scrub-yours sort of business. The trick, it seems, is to give just enough to the press to keep them happy without giving them what you don't want them to use.
In his forthcoming book on Alistair Campbell, Adam Boulton reveals that in a desperate bid to keep a series of gaffes at the Labour Party conference out of the headlines, the PM's communications chief did the decent thing and rang up The Sun to tell the newspaper that the actor Nicola Pagett was not only suffering from manic depression but also in love with him. It's not clear if the two states were interlinked. But lo and behold, the front page of the next day's Sun headlined: 'EXCLUSIVE: TV STAR'S TWISTED LOVE FOR BLAIR'S TOP MAN'. The gaffes, of course, were not mentioned.
And if you were wondering - which you probably were - why Mediawatch brings this up then it is just because if it wasn't for a pre-match motivational pep talk used by Arsene Wenger ahead of Saturday's match at Bolton being leaked to the papers, then they might have taken greater interest in Bolton captain Kevin Nolan foolishly revealing that he instructed one of his team-mates to deliberately kick Theo Walcott with the sort of premeditated assault that resulted in Roy Keane being banned for five matches in 2002.
Keane's hearing, incidentally, was held at Bolton's Reebok Stadium. Who knows where the piece of paper with Arsenal's pre-match pep talk printed on it was found or how it could have ended up being passed to at least seven different national newspapers.
Little Dutch
Also, see Megson's comments from Sunday, "To suggest, as sometimes happens with us, that we try to intimidate, isn't the case because we couldn't do that. we never even mention intimidation, it's nonsense."
Little Dutch
Megsoin is proving an able liar in the fat slug Allardousche mould!
Nolan needs to be punished for apre meditated act of incitement to injure or whatever they call it and Bolton need relegating and they're ******hole stadium needs bulldozing and turned into a giant lydle or something else equally pikey and in keeping with the area!
LondonGooner
I think you're onto something there LD..seems rather strange that this info should be leaked now when the game was played on saturday and the meeting presumably took place on the friday or before..
Anon 1
Don't get me started on him! Ill kill him!
Tom14
strange most papers are not bothere about the quality and quantity of english talent we will put up tonite. they are so engrossed on a piece of paper and a hypocrite called platini
gunnerchi
what a noob
ajwb
Haha LD, just saw your letter to the f365 mailbox. 'Did Wenger diddle Mrs. Platini' can just about be the only possible reason for Platini to have a go at Wenger in this manner. Platini's comments are way out of line.
prits
platini=moron. True, the use of video technolgy would be hard to implement in a game as fast paced as football, however there are ways (similer to tennis) that it could be done. Platini hates english football, so when in two weeks time a french manager brings up video technology, platini will be a firm supporter of it, and thing it is ridicuals the the PL hasn't yet tried it out...
pompeycarpet
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