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FIFA's tame disciplinary court's judgment on the signing of Gael Kakuta is an attack not just on Chelsea but on the entire Premier League. It has Michel Platini's fingerprints all over it.
The smug, drooling tribute to Platini from the president of Lens, a French club of course, on the announcement of the verdict told us all we need to know: "It's an important message given that particularly up and coming youth players who are contracted to clubs is an issue being followed closely by UEFA president Michel Platini".
Of course, of course! Back in March, Platini said: "The question of minors is above all a moral and ethical issue.
"We have a duty to take concrete steps to protect young players and training clubs."
What a load of sanctimonious tosh. Kakuta is in London being groomed for a big career during which Chelsea will pay him many thousands of pounds a week for kicking a football.
So who needs protecting and from whom? Kakuta has much more to fear from Platini, and FIFA's kangaroo court, who have stopped him playing competitive football for four months. The ban on Kakuta shows the hollowness of the moral basis for a judgment designed to cut Chelsea down to size.
If the moral case is to stop the exploitation of minors as Platini asserts, then Kakuta is the victim, not the villain. So why has he been banned? No one will object to Lens getting some compensation for a player they developed from the age of eight but the rest of it - the fine of £682,000 and the two transfer window bans is just spite.
It reflects the apparent hatred FIFA president Sepp Blatter, a cynical old man who it's hard to see as a moral arbiter, and Platini, who is being groomed as his successor, feel for the Premier League.
To them, the Premier League is too big for its boots and they never pass up an opportunity to disparage it, and increasingly take decisions which damage our top clubs.
It's extraordinary that the biggest game on the planet should have become the private fiefdom of these two, whose erratic exercise of power is subject to no effective checks and balances, nor indeed proper scrutiny. And increasingly they make it up between them as they go along. Take the Eduardo affair. Last season Manchester United's Darren Fletcher was banned from the Champions League Final having been red carded for what replays showed was a perfectly-timed tackle.
Was that decision rescinded? Of course not. The referee's decision is final, said Platini.
But then Eduardo allegedly dives, and even though the match referee still claims he was right to give a penalty, on Platini's insistence the Arsenal player has been banned for two matches. So much for the finality of referees' decisions.
In making this attack on Chelsea, Blatter and Platini are banking on rivalries between big clubs stopping any collective retaliation.
And indeed, there will be fans of other big clubs this morning rubbing their hands with glee at the thought that Chelsea have been holed below the waterline. They shouldn't. The Fletcher and Eduardo decisions show it's actually open season on all Premier League clubs.
A Europe-wide grouping of big clubs was established years ago but has operated as little more than Platini's poodle. Platini needs the big clubs more than they need him. They provide the Champions League contenders, from which UEFA cream off huge profits for running it badly, as the appointment of an incompetent Norwegian puffball to referee Chelsea's semi-final last season all too clearly showed.
If they treated an attack on one as an attack on all, Platini would have to think twice about arbitrary judgments like this.
At root, Platini wants players to stay in their country of origin and resents the Premier League for becoming a magnet for the world's best.
Stopping the transfer of teenagers across national boundaries is a great way to start because it can be dressed up as child protection. Platini himself went from France to Italy to win fame and fortune. Now he wants to deny that opportunity to others.
Gael Kakuta on any proper view isn't the victim of Chelsea's naked ambition. He's the victim of the rampant ego of Michel Platini.
Reader views (7)
Excellent,Mr. Mellor!
Michel Platini was a fantastic footballplayer but it seems all his talent is concentrated to the lower parts of his body, as You said, after getting rich and famous in Italy, he is now trying to stop others from doing the same, at least when they are heading for England.
Since elected for Uefapresident he turned out to be just another Napoleon-wannabe, I really like to know all the facts about the proceedings of the elections for both him and Blatter. The former president of Uefa, Lennart Johansson of Sweden suspected foul play when he was forced out.Like most french Platini envy England or at least as long as they can´t benefit from the pound, so never mind him he will be gone in a few years.
- Jack Finch, Helsingborg, Sweden
This ban is about compensation, David. Had Chelsea paid a proper fee to Lens, we would not be discussing this matter right now. Paying for their talent and developing relationships with smaller clubs would do Chelsea some good. And if Chelsea cannot survive a year with no signings, their problems are deeper than a FIFA ban.
Cheers,
Ian
- Ian Aebel, Dover, NH, USA
Platini was a superb player, but an awful administrator. Blatter wasnt even a decent player. Their jealousy towards the Premiership is blatant. As far as young players are concerned, why should they be treated any differently than older ones? If Barcelona wanted sign my 15 year old son, I would be more than happy for him to go. It is not forced labour & the youngsters often benefit from learning a new language & culture.
- Rob G, London
I agree that there needs to be consistency (where clearly there is not), however big rich clubs like the top 4 in the Prem think they can act with inpunity. Chelsea are not the only ones at it but I think hitting them with a ban hits them where it hurts, rather than a silly fine. Diving should be punished too - preferably during the game with the assistance of technology.
- Nickspurs, London
Spot on David,but will it make a difference, sadly not. There's no room for justice in the Law.
- Paul, Feltham
Brilliant, absolutely brilliant article. I am a Chelsea fan (over 50 years) too, but, as you know, more often than not disagree with many of the views you subscribe to on this particular platform.
However, I could have written this piece myself; I agree one hundred per cent with each and every word. This is the definitive description of the equivocal agenda under which FIFA and UEFA, led by the iniquitous Blatter and shifty Platini respectively, are operating. Great stuff.
"They seek 'em here, they seek 'em there, those green-eyed Frenchies seek 'em everywhere. Is it in heaven, is it in hell, les damned trop riches English cartel." (Apologies to Sir Percy Blakeney).
The plot thickens.
- Charlie, Nr. Crackpot, North Yorkshire
Let’s put it another way and apply your thoughts on another sector. What you are saying is that, it would be right and not necessarily unfair for any big supermarket to go to a farmer’s farm and take all the vegetables he has been growing during the year………… without paying him, because the supermarket can offer the vegetables a better display than the local market. What a lot of rubbish.
- Noneau, Uk
