Platini: The ban is entirely a FIFA conspiracy and I'm not going back to UEFA

According to the French media "Team Newspaper", next Tuesday, that is, October 8, the ban on former UEFA President Platini will be officially lifted. The Legendary French star was interviewed by the Team Newspaper a few days ago, in which he talked about his current life and future plans.

In a restaurant opposite the Nancy train station, a reporter from the Team newspaper conducted an exclusive interview with Platini, 64. Speaking of Nancy, that's where Platini's football career began. As soon as he entered the restaurant, Platini pointed to the salon on the right and said that since his mother could not cook, he would come here with his family to celebrate Christmas every year on December 25. Also accompanying Platini was Olivier Rouyer, a former teammate of Platini's team at AS Nancy and the French national team, and their relationship was very good, as close as brothers. The two-hour conversation was accompanied by a plate of oysters and an apple pie. Platini, sometimes serious and sometimes humorous, tells us his story.

<b>Reporter: On October 8, what will you do? </b>

Platini: There was nothing good to celebrate that day because I never thought I deserved to be grounded. What right do civil society organizations like FIFA have to prevent me from doing the relevant work? If I had thought about it, I could have re-engaged in football. Of course FIFA will sanction me, but I can also sue them in civil court, and I will definitely win.

<b>Reporter: Have you been enduring the pain of the ban for the past four years? </b>

Platini: Yes, in the first month of the ban, I had to wear a hat and sunglasses when I went out, and I felt like Al Capone (a famous American gangster boss). Because everyone was talking about me at the time, it was an inconvenience to my wife, my children, and my family. It quickly became clear to me that I couldn't defend myself because it was all a FIFA conspiracy against me. Before I could prove my innocence, I was found guilty. Of course, after this, I will not commit suicide, I must live. During this time my golf level has improved, I will go for walks, I will travel, and I will often visit my children and grandchildren. I lived a retirement-like life, but I didn't really retire. Those four years passed quickly.

<b>Reporter: Did it really go by quickly? </b>

Platini: The older you get, the faster time passes. A two-year-old's day is 32 times longer than a 64-year-old's day (laughs).

<b>Reporter: So you think you're still a kid? </b>

Platini: Yeah, at the age of 64, it's really great to be able to enjoy life, friends and family like a kid. When you start to see the people around you pass away, you will understand this. I want to enjoy the rest of my life and want to make my life happier and happier. I also don't want to do things I don't like, not just for revenge. My friend once told me to go to FIFA and give a speech, scold them, and whisk them away. We all thought it was funny, but it didn't work (laughs).

<b>Reporter: What were your best and worst memories during this time? </b>

Platini: The best memories are being able to arrange and control my own time, and I can do whatever I want, where I want to go. I don't have to race against the clock to do anything, even if I have a traffic jam, I don't care. For the first time in my life, there was no work or invitation to do, and I felt that freedom was priceless.

<b>Reporter: What about the worst and most regrettable thing? Some people think that you were affected by the ban at that time and did not have the opportunity to go to Paris for the euro 2016 lottery ceremony...</b>

Platini: Yeah, that's the worst, because there are a lot of things that should have been done by me, and it turned out to be done by someone else. For example, the group draw at the European Championships, the welcome speech for all participating teams, and the trophy awarding ceremony after the final. It doesn't seem to matter now, but it was really tough and hurtful for me.

<b>Reporter: You were detained on June 18 this year, what happened at that time? </b>

Platini: That's also bad because I'm going to dinner at the French president's house, and I'm going to tell him who I voted for for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, so should I be detained? In the last four years, a series of things have happened to me that are unacceptable and unbearable. Not to mention that I am still a somewhat famous person, and I can't hide from all this in anonymity. When I was detained, from Denmark to Bangkok, newspapers and television had headlines saying "Platini Arrested", and I really didn't understand why.

<b>Reporter: Is this an allusion to Sarkozy? Now he is protected as a former president of France. </b>

Platini: Why should I be a joint victim? If I had been involved in the corruption case, the Swiss and Americans would have found something long ago. For four years, they searched all my accounts and two of my homes. In Switzerland, the case was only against Blatter, and I was not guilty of anything. However, the matter eventually became unusual, and although I was never seen as a witness in a criminal case in Switzerland, FIFA intervened in the case on the pretext that I was a witness in the Blatter case. When the Swiss Ministry of Justice proved my innocence, FIFA insisted on imposing a ban on me. It was then that Platini's career came to an end.

<b>Reporter: So you definitely don't want to go back to the political arena anymore. </b>

Platini: That's a question I've been thinking about for four years. I find myself in the same situation as before, when I didn't know if I wanted to run for FIFA presidency. Sometimes I want to run, but the next day I don't want to. When I decided not to choose, I was eager to participate... I'm such a Gemini!

<b>Reporter: But in an interview with the Swiss channel TSR on September 6, you stressed that you would come back. </b>

Platini: Yeah, I'll be back, but there's no sense of urgency. My ban will end in October, the last FIFA presidency was held in May this year, and the next one will be held four years later. In Zurich, everything is done very well (laughs).

<b>Reporter: But there will be other things in the near future (the election of the president of the French Football Association will be held in a year). </b>

Platini: I know what you're referring to (laughs) because a lot of people are talking to me about it. Some friends suggested that I should run, and some friends thought that I had served as president of UEFA and that there was no point in being president of the French Football Association. While the deadline is close, it still seems far away to me, and I haven't really considered that yet.

<b>Reporter: You've always said that you've been doing things before, and you won't do it again. </b>

Platini: From my wife, I learned the principle that nothing can be done all over again. It's impossible for us to go through two identical love stories, so here it is, some doors have been closed, especially THOSE doors.

<b>Reporter: But the doors of the French Football Federation and FIFA have not been closed, after all, you have never been the head of these two institutions. </b>

Platini: There's an Italian proverb that when one door closes, the other opens. When my ban is over, we'll see how people will see me, we'll know what advice they're going to give me, and I'm waiting to see what people think of me.

<b>When you talk about people, are you referring to the public, or people in football? </b>

Platini: I'm talking about the leaders of football in France, in Europe and in the world. When I was grounded, they were all scared. When the ban is lifted, I want to see who will get in touch with me, what they want to do, and why they do it. Now I also know that in four years, many people and many positions have changed, and things have developed in change and movement.

<b>Reporter: So this means that if after October 8, someone continues to support you, you will not necessarily refuse. </b>

Platini: Maybe some people prefer to be farther away from me (laughs).

<b>Reporter: Don't you want to be a leader anymore, don't you want to make decisions anymore? </b>

Platini: It's a bit complicated. I used to be involved when it was necessary to make new rules. Nowadays, I have a hard time even finding the train of thought that reporters interview me (laughs).

<b>Reporter: What is your relationship with Noël Le Graët, the current president of the French Football Association? </b>

Platini: We weren't in touch.

<b>Reporter: What do you think of Legráé's views on homophobia on the pitch (Le Grauer believes that football matches should be stopped immediately if there is racist discrimination. But for homophobia and homophobia, it is not necessary to call the game aborted)? </b>

Platini: I don't agree with him, for me, it's also an insult, an insult is an insult.

<b>Reporter: So do you think there is no difference between italian fans imitating monkey cries and French fans insulting slogans about homosexuality? </b>

Platini: There is no difference. For nearly fifty years, soccer stadiums have been a place for people to vent their emotions, and all behaviors are allowed. People think we as players should also accept all this, including being insulted, because we are rich and privileged, and we have all experienced this. But today, the world has changed. Today's society no longer accepts such groundless insults, and I fully understand them.

<b>Reporter: Rouyer supports penalizing homophobic behavior on the pitch, do you agree? </b>

Platini: It's complicated, but you have to have the courage to do it. The problem now is that things are done wrong, and you can't solve everything by simple repression. In the case of your child's education, if you just don't let him eat candy and don't tell him why, he will steal more. We have to communicate and communicate, and we should talk to the organizers of those extreme fan groups.

<b>Reporter: I think this interview is like you've done a candidate speech for the president of the French Football Association! </b>

Platini: Is it a speech with worthless content? I think so (laughs).

(Mimiel)