Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/726681
22 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER 2016 Sport FOOTBALL UEFA president to be elected UEFA's 55 members meet in Athens today to bring an end to the Michel Platini era and elect a leader who can resolve a growing class war among Europe's top clubs PLATINI ran European football for eight years with almost the same level of control he exerted for France and Juventus as a play- er but that came to an end in De- cember when a FIFA ethics panel gave him an eight-year red card. That sanction, for a corrupt pay- ment he received from the also- banned FIFA boss Sepp Blatter in 2011, has twice been reduced but the Frenchman is now out of ap- peals and still sidelined for four years, which is why UEFA needs somebody to finish his term. The 61-year-old's replacement will be either unheralded Slovene Aleksander Ceferin or veteran Dutchman Michael van Praag. The latter is a dependable ad- ministrator, having served long stints in charge at Ajax and the Dutch FA, and he also earned respect from many, including the Football Association, when he stood against Blatter for FIFA president in 2015. But Van Praag is 68 and, while he is untainted by football's vari- ous corruption scandals, he is not the fresh thinker many want. A former leader of the old G-14 group of elite clubs, he is also per- ceived to be too close to football's super-rich, although that tag may be unfair as his beloved Ajax have been reduced to feeder-club sta- tus by teams from bigger markets. His real problem, however, is that he is not Ceferin. The 48-year-old was unheard of outside his native country when Press Association Sport first tipped him in May. Within a month, the practising lawyer was the likely winner. Like Van Praag, the former Ol- impija Ljubljana director comes with no baggage but he has also built a reputation among senior UEFA staff as a pragmatist who looks for consensus. And he has certainly raised the Slovenian FA's game since taking charge in 2011. He has also made a virtue out of Slovenia's size and position by gaining support from Europe's smaller countries before land- ing some big ones - France, Ger- many and Italy, for example - as the momentum behind him grew to form a coalition that bridges north, south, east and west. On the big issue of the proposed changes to UEFA's club compe- titions from 2018, Ceferin has been relatively quiet, saying only that he would resist a breakaway by European football's "haves", whilst making sure the "have nots" have access to the riches of the Champions League and Eu- ropa League. That, of course, will be easier said than done, particularly after UEFA rushed through a set of re- forms to the competitions in Au- gust that have managed to annoy almost every league apart from Serie A, the main beneficiary, and yet still fail to stop rumours of a US-style, closed league of giants. The biggest threat to Ceferin's coronation will be the sense that he is too popular. Norwegian online outlet Josi- mar claimed last week that new FIFA president, and former UEFA general secretary, Gianni Infan- tino had been pulling strings for him and reported that Ceferin had promised Scandinavia the Euros in 2024 or 2028 in return for its support. This prompted an outbreak of open hostilities when Van Praag tweeted his disgust and suggested Ceferin was "a power-hungry pol- itician" who could not be trusted. Ceferin hit back, telling PA Sport he was not the one "mak- ing up stories to pollute the cam- paign". And the fact he has Infan- tino's ear, who will be in Athens to welcome the victor to FIFA's council as a vice-president, will be seen by some as a bonus af- ter bouts of tension between the global governing body and its richest confederation. An example of that is the row between Blatter and Platini, who had been like master and appren- tice for so long, which ultimately led to this vote. The assembled FAs will get a reminder of that succession dis- pute before the vote, as Platini has been given permission to make a 10-minute speech. FIFA's ethics chief Hans- Joachim Eckert described this as a "gesture of humanity" but sev- eral anti-corruption campaign- ers have told PA Sport it makes a mockery of Platini's ban and the fact he is still under criminal in- vestigation in Switzerland. Award-winning journalist and Blatter nemesis Andrew Jennings said it showed the "moral bank- ruptcy of UEFA", while Conserva- tive MP and leading FIFA critic Damian Collins said "he should not be allowed any role in the election process at all". Some observers believe he has already done that by persuading France to back Ceferin but even a win for his preferred replacement will not be easy for a proud man who believes he should be here in Infantino's seat, not relying on favours to make a more dignified farewell. Aleksander Ceferin (left) and Michael van Praag (right) will go head to head for the UEFA presidency on Wednesday Police turn down West Ham request THE Metropolitan Police main- tain a lack of a "satisfactory radio system" at West Ham's London Stadium is prevent- ing additional special policing services being put in place on match days. West Ham have demanded that London Stadium owner E20 guarantees a police presence at future matches following crowd trouble during Saturday's 4-2 Premier League defeat to Wat- ford. An unspecified number of fans were ejected from the London Stadium after fights broke out in the closing stages of the game, although the Met Police have stated there were no arrests. West Ham, who moved from Upton Park into the converted Olympic Stadium for the start of the new season, say they have specified "essential important improvements" to increase the numbers of those involved in stewarding and the security operation, as well as the level of training and experience they have in dealing with Premier League matches. According to the club, E20 has confirmed that immediate ac- tion is being taken on the issues raised, including a "more robust and secure line of segregation" between home and away fans. However, in a statement on Tuesday, Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner Peter Terry, specialist crime & operations, said additional po- licing measures were not able to be implemented because of the lack of the Airwave radio sys- tem, which is used by the emer- gency services, and the problem was highlighted two years ago. "The stadium operators are responsible for the safety and comfort of their customers and staff. This includes disorderly behaviour that has not reached the level of criminality," Terry said. "The Metropolitan Police Ser- vice will fulfil its legal respon- sibilities in relation to dealing with matters of criminality. "The MPS is not able to pro- vide special policing services at this time as it would normally, as there is no satisfactory radio system across the ground. "This issue was highlighted to the stadium operators in Octo- ber 2014 and the MPS has been in negotiation with stadium op- erators regarding the provision of Airwave radio inside the sta- dium. "During this time the MPS had spoken to the stadium operators several times to highlight the consequences of not installing such a system. "Until there is comprehen- sive Airwave radio coverage throughout the ground officers will not be routinely deployed within it under a special servic- es agreement. "The stadium operators have only very recently agreed to install a satisfactory radio sys- tem." West Ham supporters fought among themselves and clashed with stewards and Watford fans in what was just the Irons' sec- ond Premier League game at their new home. Fans are unhappy at the stew- arding and being unable to stand as they did at Upton Park, with West Ham urging support- ers to sit in order to comply with safety standards that would al- low them to increase their ca- pacity by 9,000 to 66,000. The club hves warned they could hand life bans to any sup- porters found to have been in- volved in crowd trouble. West Ham's next home is against Accrington in an EFL Cup tie on September 21 before they host Southampton in the Premier League four days later. The club were not available for immediate comment in re- sponse to the Metropolitan Police Service statement when contacted by the Press Associa- tion on Tuesday afternoon. The issue over security at the London Stadium rumbles on