Any player who walks off the pitch during Euro 2012 in protest at being subjected to racist abuse will be booked by the referee, Michel Platini has confirmed.
In an attempt to clarify how European football’s governing body wants any such incidents to be dealt with, the Uefa president insisted that the responsibility rests with referees who have the power to stop matches in the event of serious outbreaks of racism.
It is his declaration that any player who follows Mario Balotelli’s suggestion to walk off the pitch will receive a yellow card that will cause concern, however, because it raises the prospect of victims of racism being punished for refusing to tolerate abuse.
Balotelli made his stance clear last month in an interview with France Football amid growing concern for the potential of racist abuse in Poland and Ukraine. “I hope there will not be a problem with racism at the Euros,” the Manchester City forward said. “Because if it does happen I would leave the pitch straightaway and go home.”
Platini, though, takes a dim view of that attitude and wants players to cede responsibility to match officials rather than take matters into their own hands. “It’s a yellow card,” he said. “It’s not a player — Mr Balotelli — who’s in charge of refereeing. It’s the referee who takes these decisions. So the referee has been given advice and he can stop the game if there are problems.
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“Referees can finish the game. They have this power in case of racism. That is the best way to protect the game against racism.”
The former France midfielder insists that Uefa has done all it can to ensure the tournament is not plagued by racism despite his acceptance that the issue is one for society as a whole to deal with rather than responsibility being laid at the door of football’s authorities.
He also refused to accept that either Uefa as an organisation or himself as an individual have to take responsibility for any outbreaks of racism, maintaining that as long as genuine attempts have been made to tackle the problem, they should be considered beyond reproach.
“My reputation because there are racists in Poland and Ukraine — are you joking?” Platini asked. “You think I am responsible for the racists in the rest of Europe or in England? My responsibility is not to do nothing — and we have done a lot to change the rules, to change the regulations. We do a lot [in the fight against] racism, but I am not responsible for society.”