"With extra officials you're aware of more things: the fear of getting caught is there. There's no more shirt-pulling, players know that the referee is there." At this point in his interview with Sky Sports, Michel Platini was doing reasonably well. We haven't seen the kind of holdups at set pieces, caused by pushing and shoving, to which we've become accustomed in club matches. Then, warming to the tune he was parping on UEFA's trumpet, Platini added an extra long note of satisfaction. "With five, officials see everything." If he hadn't already been reassessing his feelings on the matter, today's play might have forced him to.
UEFA president Michel Platini talks to Pedro Pinto about the Champions League final, financial fair play and Euros.
CNN World Sport's Pedro Pinto talks with Ukrainian boxing champion Vitali Klitschko ahead of the Euro 2012 draw in Kiev.
UEFA president Michel Platini admits the build up to the 2012 European Championships in Poland and Ukraine has been a "complicated adventure" but predicted a successful soccer tournament when the action kicks off in June.
CNN's Pedro Pinto interviews UEFA's Michel Platini ahead of the draw for the 2012 European Championships.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has denied reports that he plans to hand over power to UEFA chief Michel Platini before the end of his final four-year tenure as the head of world football's governing body.
Another NFL season is upon us, and so is one of the greatest inventions known to man: the NFL Red Zone channel, which whips around from city to city, allowing you to see live look-ins, real-time highlights and all the scoring plays from every NFL game on any given Sunday.
UEFA president Michel Platini has refused to rule out the possibility of standing against Sepp Blatter in FIFA's controversial presidential race, if Wednesday's election is postponed.
UEFA President Michel Platini about the Champions League Final and FIFA corruption allegations.
Michel Platini has positioned himself for a future tilt at the FIFA presidency by claiming that world soccer's ruling body needs to be run by sporting specialists rather than administrators such as the incumbent Sepp Blatter.
In the world of football, Wembley is more than a stadium. It's a shrine.
On Feb. 17, Sports Illustrated senior writer Grant Wahl announced his candidacy for FIFA president, releasing his platform for change and his campaign video as the People's Choice to replace Sepp Blatter. Wahl had 43 days to be formally nominated by one of the world's 208 national federations before the final deadline: Friday at 6 p.m. ET. With the deadline about to hit, Wahl is ending his campaign. This is his inside story of what happened over the past six weeks.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has called for a reduction in the size of domestic competitions in order to improve the standard of international football.
European football's governing body UEFA has confirmed that Michel Platini will continue as president for another four years.
UEFA president Michel Platini claims that goal-line technology is not needed in soccer, stating it would lead to "PlayStation football."
As well as upping weekend revenue for DIY stores everywhere, the international break produced two hat-tricks -- one each for Jermain Defoe (England) and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Netherlands). Variety, technique, a dollop of selfishness, they all go into the mix to score a treble at this level, and competitive international hat tricks are getting harder to come by -- the last three World Cups have produced about a quarter of the total produced by the first three. Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain bagged one this summer with the same cool exterior as his predecessor Gabriel Batistuta, but an international hat trick of tournament-changing magnitude, of tear-jerking quality or just of eyebrow-raising novelty is a rare thing indeed. Here's a list of memorable ones:
France has been chosen to host the 2016 European Football Championship.
UEFA president Michel Platini says he is disappointed that the buildup to Saturday's Champions League final between Inter Milan and Bayern Munich has been dominated by the coaches, and not the players.
British football fans could have a greater say in the way their club is run after the national government confirmed they are investigating a raft of radical measures to reform the game.
Togo captain Emmanuel Adebayor has labeled as "outrageous" the controversial decision to ban his side from the next two Africa Cup of Nations.
UEFA president Michel Platini has stated that he believes Ukraine and Poland will be ready host the European Championships in 2012.
German prosecutors said Friday they are investigating a huge match-fixing scandal with more than 200 games under scrutiny and 17 people arrested.
Prosecutors in Germany are investigating a huge match-fixing scandal with over 200 games under scrutiny and 15 arrests made.
We knew it was coming sooner or later. Michel Platini, president of UEFA, had said as much. And now we're one step closer, after UEFA approved what it calls the "concept" of "financial fair play."
Michel Platini, the president of the governing body for European football (UEFA), has revealed plans to bring in new financial regulations to prevent clubs spending beyond their means in a bid to curb the debt within football.
Arsenal striker Eduardo could face a two-match Champions League ban if European football's governing body UEFA decide to charge him with diving.
Michel Platini, the president of the governing body for European football (UEFA), has hit out at the large fee offered by Real Madrid for the Portugal playmaker Cristiano Ronaldo.
CNN's Pedro Pinto chats with UEFA President Michel Platini about the upcoming Champions League final.
Michel Platini, the president of the governing body for European football (UEFA) has exclusively told CNN that he urges fans not to travel to the Champions League final in Rome without a ticket -- in the wake of news that a Briton needed hospital treatment after being stabbed.
UEFA president Michel Platini has cast fresh doubt over Ukraine's co-hosting of Euro 2012 with Poland after the latest inspections by European football's governing body.
Liverpool want to avoid playing on the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster and UEFA president Michel Platini says he will "do his utmost" to make it a reality.
A little more than a week ago, I was invited to a roundtable chat with UEFA president Michel Platini. One phrase stood out: "We need to reintroduce the concept of morality in football. We have to permit everybody to have a chance to win."
Michel Platini has been an eager advocate of the introduction of salary caps since his election as the president of UEFA. His idealism, as well as his power base among the smaller nations of Europe, makes him a natural supporter of a scheme that might reduce the power of the giant clubs of England, Italy and Spain, and allow many more teams a realistic chance of winning trophies.
Sometimes less is more and this maxim might well have been coined for the UEFA Champions League.
Perhaps it was always going to take the meltdown of the financial markets to get the folks who run the game to take an interest in things like ownership and debt. Whatever the case may be, it's better late than never.
The head of England's Football Association believes that the global credit crisis could force one of the country's top teams into bankruptcy.
In the week that UEFA President Michel Platini criticized Arsene Wenger for having a "business" mentality rather than a "footballing" one, the Arsenal manager sent out a team with an average age of just 19 to win 6-0 in the Carling Cup.
Earlier this week, UEFA President Michel Platini and Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger got involved in a somewhat petty dispute over video replay and what Platini reportedly described as Wenger being a man "of business," whereas Platini is a man "of football."
Marco van Basten came up short of his dream ending as Netherlands manager when Russia upset the Oranje in the quarterfinals of the 2008 European Championship. The former Dutch legend decided long before the Euros that this would be his last stint as national-team manager. I spoke with van Basten just before the tournament about what's next for him and Dutch soccer.
UEFA President Michel Platini talks to CNN's Pedro Pinto about what UEFA is doing to tackle racism in football.
Luther Blissett remembers vividly what it was like walking out into an Italian stadium when he played for AC Milan in the early 1980s.
CNN's Don Riddell speaks to former soccer star Paul Canoville about how he overcame racial abuse on and off the pitch.
So often it starts with just a provocative word, and in my case it was three ... "Black and Blue". A phrase more commonly used to describe bruising and pain had been used as the title of an autobiography by Chelsea's first black footballer, Paul Canoville.
This year's tournament will be the 13th European Championship finals. Here is a summary of how the other 12 competitions were decided.
There are more pounds around the middle and less hair up top these days as perhaps the most powerful yet graceful player ever produced in Europe slides toward his 46th birthday, his playing days long past and an oft-aborted coaching career in its fourth phase.
Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium will be the venue for the 2010 Champions League final.
The Olympic flame on Monday began its 34-day journey around the world ahead of the 2008 Beijing Games. Here are some facts about the centuries-old traditions behind the relay and its modern development.
The English Football Association is to reconsider its rules on UEFA Cup qualification, which could clear the way for Cardiff City to play in the tournament as English representatives if they lift the FA Cup.
UEFA president Michel Platini believes that the English Premier League plan for a 39th fixture to be played overseas is principally designed to help English club's to cope with growing debts.
UEFA have asked police organization Europol to investigate 15 cases of suspected matchfixing officials confirmed in Lucerne on Saturday.
UEFA have decided the Champions League final will be staged on a Saturday from the 2009-10 season.
Top footballers could shun Italian clubs and look to play in Spain or England in preference if soccer-related violence continues says Valencia's international striker Fernando Morientes.
UEFA president Michel Platini has conceded defeat on his controversial plan which would have seen winners of national cup competitions qualify for the Champions League.
The immediate significance of Thierry Henry's two late goals against Lithuania on Wednesday was to rescue a faltering France and keep them on course for Euro 2008.
Scotland face the prospect of having to beat world champions Italy in their final qualifying clash if they are to reach the 2008 European Championships finals after slumping to a 2-0 defeat in Georgia on Wednesday.
Scotland maintained their lead at the top of the highly competitive Group B in the Euro 2008 qualifiers when they beat Ukraine 3-1 at Hampden Park.
The Champions League will almost certainly be revamped in 2009, with domestic cup winners given a place in the qualifying stages, UEFA president Michel Platini has revealed.
The draw for the group stage of the Champions League takes place on Thursday in Monte Carlo as the movers and shakers of European soccer congregate for their annual get-together, organized by governing body UEFA.
France national coach Raymond Domenech has been warned by UEFA that he will face sanctions if he is unable to back up his allegations of match-fixing against Italy, a month before the nations meet in a Euro 2008 qualifier.
Former German national-team hero Franz Beckenbauer is a World Cup winner both as a player (1974) and a coach (1990). During a 19-year professional career, he won nearly every title there is with Bayern Munich, the New York Cosmos and Hamburger SV. Now he has a new role with FIFA. The man known as "The Kaiser" talks to World Soccer's Gavin Hamilton.
Poland and Ukraine have been chosen to stage the 2012 European Championships, UEFA president Michel Platini announced in Cardiff on Wednesday.
UEFA opened investigations on Wednesday into the trouble on and off the field during Lille's Champions League loss to Manchester United.
Newly-elected UEFA president Michel Platini has urged the 16 clubs taking part in this week's Champions League matches to set an example as soccer seeks to clean up an image tarnished by recent outbreaks of violence.
David Taylor, the head of the Scottish Football Association, has emerged as the favourite to succeed Lars-Christer Olsson as chief executive of UEFA, European football's governing body.
Swede Lars-Christer Olsson has resigned as UEFA chief executive after reaching a settlement with European football's governing body.
German football league head Werner Hackmann has died at the age of 59, the country's Football Association (DFB) has confirmed.
Thierry Henry was on target as France finished the year on a high by beating European champions Greece 1-0 at the Stade de France in a friendly on Wednesday.
Holders Nancy reached the French League Cup quarterfinals with a 2-1 home win over Toulouse on Tuesday.
Surprise package Nancy extended their strong start to the season with a 1-0 home win over bottom club Nantes on Saturday to hold on to third place in France's Ligue 1.
French stars Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry can propel France to World Cup glory over Italy Sunday evening said Les Bleus legend Michel Platini.
Soccer's World Cup starts Friday, and I will spend way too much time watching it on TV (with all the weekday games airing during East Coast working hours, this may cause problems). My son and I will even fly to Germany for a couple of games, and I could easily fill page after Web page with half-informed rantings about the Netherlands' inscrutably brilliant coach, England's dorky new star, and the USA's balding-but-spry goalie. But I won't.
Thierry Henry and Sylvain Wiltord each scored Wednesday to help France beat Denmark 2-0 in a World Cup warmup match at Lens.
Throughout the World Cup, CNN is compiling its own "Dream Team" of the greatest-ever players who have competed in the tournament.
Nancy hope history will repeat itself when they face Nice in the French League Cup final at the Stade de France on Saturday.
Lennart Johansson, president of European soccer's governing body UEFA, has said he will not be standing for another term in 2007.
Turkish police, assisted by British and Italian colleagues, are on high alert as fans flock to Istanbul for Wednesday night's Champions' League final between Liverpool and AC Milan.
The German football federation's (DFB) executive committee has unanimously endorsed Franz Beckenbauer as a candidate for UEFA's presidency.
Former international defender Laurent Blanc wants the France manager's job while Monaco coach Didier Deschamps definitively ruled himself out on Friday.
Former France internationals Laurent Blanc and Jean Tigana have emerged as the favorites to succeed Jacques Santini following France's humiliating early exit from the European Championships.
Marseille president Christophe Bouchet plans to write to European soccer's governing body regarding Pierluigi Collina's refereeing in the UEFA Cup final.
Record 10 times French champions St Etienne have won promotion back to Division One after three years.
Former greats St Etienne caused the upset of the French League Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday when the Second Division club beat Ligue 1 favourites Nice 2-0.
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