Platini talking FIFA’s Language

RTG has, in general, been a supporter of Michel Platini. It is no secret we support Financial Fair Play in principle, if it is properly enforced. Equally, however, we have consistently questioned whether he possesses either the financial clout or the resolve to enforce his proposals and suggestions (FFP in particular). Our suspicions as to Platini’s true motives were further reinforced last week when he came out in support of a Winter World Cup in 2022 in order that the tournament does not have to be played in the middle of the Qatar summer.

What is perhaps worse is that M. Platini actually had the nerve to suggest that this was for the benefit of the “fans”. "We have to go to Qatar when it is good for everybody to participate. What is better for the fans?" he told the Evening Standard last week. Might we suggest to M. Platini that, if he really wants to look after the well being of us supporters, perhaps it would be better to hold the World Cup in a location that is easy to travel to and around, has some football stadia in which to play the game and doesn’t boast summer temperatures of 45°C plus. While we’re at it, can we also suggest that you choose locations where all supporters, irrespective of creed, colour and sexual preference will be welcome and free to do as they please.

RTG is not suggesting that this ranks anything like the level of contempt for supporters that led to the Hillsborough tragedy but, if there was one thing that came out of that report a fortnight ago, it was that the needs and views of supporters have been consistently disregarded over a number of years by governments, administrators and law-enforcers alike. Choosing to vote for the World Cup in Qatar shows that we continue to be treated as an afterthought in the minds of these people.

Could it be that, in 10 years time, M. Platini fancies the idea of himself sat atop the stinking pile of corruption that is FIFA and that he may be best placed to “take advantage” of all that a World Cup held in an oil-rich nation has to offer?

UEFA Fair Play Watch

RTG promised to keep posting news about this issue and one of the more “challenging” aspects has reared its ugly head once more: the “related party transaction”. These are the rules that allow UEFA to identify and deal with revenue that has been “artificially” received by a club. So, for instance, Manchester City’s record breaking naming rights deal with a sister company of the City’s owners – apparently the City of Manchester stadium naming rights are worth twice that of Madison Square Gardens (!*£$!?) – should come under scrutiny for “fairness” and “value” in a re-assessment of their compliance.

Now Paris Saint Germain have announced an annual 100 million euro shirt sponsorship deal with the Qatari National Bank, another sister company of the owners the Qatari Investment Authority. This supercedes their current deal of 4 million euros by a factor of 25!

UEFA President Michel Platini has consistently stated that teams will not be able to skirt the rules by getting “sweetheart” deals from affiliate organisations. RTG has also been consistent in their fears that UEFA won’t have the stomach to implement the rules. Fuel has been added to our fire by the comments of PSG President, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who stated that the club will respect FFP rules, but added somewhat disingenuously “Platini said that we needed to be creative and we have some ideas”.

Supporter Power – The “Worms” are Beginning to Turn

With an economy in free-fall and the highest unemployment in Europe, Spain’s football supporters are providing a backlash to the indulgences of their football industry. And not just through falling attendances. This season has seen the introduction of a new 11pm kick-off time to accommodate, of course, television.

Malaga fans recently turned up to their 11pm home match dressed in pyjamas as a protest. Following this, Deportivo La Coruna supporters displayed a banner reading “We hate modern football, we hate television”. In RTG’s experience, the Spanish don’t seem to start their nights out until about 11pm anyway. All the more surprising to learn of the protests – but we most heartily support the sentiment!

Billionaires’ Largesse Creating Players in Limbo

Whilst undertaking a nostalgia trip flicking through a 1968 football magazine, RTG stumbled upon an article bemoaning ever spiraling transfers fees which, that year, had hit a shock record high…£2 million. Perhaps the biggest surprise was that Leicester City and Aston Villa (then struggling at the foot of old division 2) were by far the biggest spenders. Even mighty Manchester United only spent £37k more than Luton Town of the third division. Basically, it was a far more even playing field.

Today, with billionaire owners bankrolling their clubs to buy success. players and their agents gravitate toward them with the aim of securing big money moves and huge wage hikes or to use “interest” from these clubs as a bargaining tool to force the hand of their own clubs in negotiating a better pay deal.

This has created a body of players for whom wages and transfer moves are confined to only a few select clubs. When a transfer move goes wrong, or a player like this falls out of favour, they become suspended in a professional limbo, unable to ply their trade simply because nobody else can afford them. It also creates absurd situations like Adebayour’s at Tottenham, where City paid 65% of his wages in order to be able to secure the loan deal – a blatant abuse of the loan system which is perhaps for another discussion. With Spurs unable to afford his wages for a permanent move, City effectively had to subsidize his eventual transfer by letting him go for a fraction of his value the previous year.

Players of the calibre of Arshavin, Tevez, and Adebayour himself have severely resticted their options when things haven’t worked out. These weren’t the first multi-millionaire footballers who were happy to sit in the reserves, but some of these players – especially budding England stars such as Wright-Phillips, Parker and Sturridge – would do better to consider the pitfalls of falling into this professional limbo, lured by short term gains – however huge. It could be a career stunting disaster, but then, if you were paid millions to warm a bench on Saturday/Sunday afternoons, with occasional mid week trips to (sometimes) iconic European cities, would you worry?