By John ST
On one side of this sparring match, we have Frenchman Michael Platini, the president of Uefa and the other, good old Arsene Wenger, manager of Arsenal FC. Both were friends for many years but ever since Platini ascends the lofty position of Uefa president, relationships have been strained.
Wenger and Platini were embroiled in a bitter feud again this week, thanks to an interview Platini gave to Dauphine Libere. Let’s look at the comments which Platini raged about.
1. “I like to talk about football, him (Wenger) about business. We must stop with Wenger and all that.”
2. “It would make me happy that Arsene Wenger never sees it (video assistance) .”
3. When asked about his thoughts on Romanian side CFR Cluj’s unexpected victory over Roma in the Champions League last week, Platini said: “That is what makes football so great. It is what people like Wenger do not want, little clubs beating the big clubs, because they want their business.”
Arsene Wenger responded promptly and indicates his shock at being swiped by the president of football’s governing body in Europe.
“I am stunned by the aggressive content of Platini’s words. I am effectively a supporter of video assistance for referees, like all coaches, and I believe UEFA have an important role to play in this. I am for sporting justice and UEFA must be the guarantor of it. I am a supporter of good management of clubs, for financial equilibrium.
“And UEFA must equally support this idea. I am fighting for the future of the game and of football. I don’t see why UEFA should take umbrage at ideas that are different from their own.”
During his reign, Michael Platini was not shy to engage in controversial issues but he was often way off the mark. This latest attack on Arsene Wenger came as a surprise to me, not for its hollowness, but for its ferocity on a fellow countryman.
While I beg to differ with Wenger’s football philosophy at times, especially his selective blindness and reluctance to develop England players en-route to achieving honors for Arsenal; in this instance, I feel Wenger is hard done by.
One minute Platini is lamenting that football clubs neglect their financial affairs, the next, he attacks Wenger for caring only “about business.” Double standards in his concern on football’s developments, indeed.
Why berate about the disparity between the rich and poor in football? The salary scale of super stars and the water carriers is not something new. It was prevalent in Spain and Italy since the 80s, but of late, has taken on mammoth proportions in the Premier League due to the influx of money from foreign owners.
Wenger is not solely responsible for such trends in football. If anything, he regularly loses his best players to poachers from bigger clubs.
I have a healthy respect for Michael Platini’s achievements as a world-class footballer but in his current role as Uefa President, I feel he should help himself preserve a shred of dignity by talking less.
It is unbecoming of a football supremo to single out a particular manager and interfere so ostensibly in his job. Making such aggressive remarks only serve to illustrate Platini as a complacent man who is out of touch with reality.
To be sure, there is a touch of jealousy in the way Arsene Wenger has developed from a mediocre player into a high-flying manager. Conversely, Michael Platini’s best days are now behind him.
As a player, Platini wins hands-down but as Uefa President (the title may seem prestigious), he had accomplished nothing noteworthy and feels more impotent than he will have liked.
Actually, if Platini is intent on gaining respect from his peers, there are several topics which he can champion. The excesses of clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester United and now Manchester City have pumped up transfer prices to a ludicrous level.
If the clubs are self-sufficient and have the resources to splurge, I say by all means, but if heavy leverage and foreign owners are the passport to their bulging transfer budget, what happen to the clubs when the targets of increased gate receipts, merchandise sales, Champions League fall short? Just think Leeds United. Or when the sugar daddys lose interest in the club?
Racism against Emile Heskey by Croatian fans, vicious insults of Sol Campbell which affected his mental stability and the regular outbreaks of violence in the Serie A.
And not to forget, serious reforms in the sport which include minimizing the plethora of ugly fouls, dubious goals and offsides by introducing video technology and replay. Arsenal are not the cleanest players on the pitch, so when they are in support of video technology, the world should Wenger a thumbs up.
As Mark Twain says, it is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt. What do you guys think of the Michael Platini’s feud against Arsene Wenger?
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