Platini hits out at Mourinho over 'stupid' comments '

Platini hits out at Mourinho over 'stupid' comments '

UEFA president Michel Platini has criticised Jose Mourinho for the "stupid things" he said after Real Madrid's Champions League semi-final first-leg defeat to Barcelona.

The Portuguese claimed in the wake of the match that the Catalan club had an influence over referees and that they had not won the 2009 Champions League cleanly because of decisions in their favour in the semi-final encounter against Chelsea.

"I'm especially fond of him; I love Mourinho," Platini said in an interview in Spanish newspaper Marca.

"I like him as a man and also his character as a coach, but that doesn't mean the disciplinary body of UEFA will not deal with him - that has nothing to do with it.


"He said stupid things and that's why the disciplinary commission decided to sanction him."

Mourinho was given a five-match European ban by UEFA for his outburst, a sanction which Real have appealed against, but Platini says the case will not affect their relationship.

"He has taken up his right to appeal and we'll see what happens, but we will still get on well," the Frenchman said.

"When I played there were referees that I had a very good relationship with, but they still gave me yellow cards... and my father would slap me when I behaved badly as a child but it was because he loved me."

Platini, however, said he will have nothing to do with the case.

"The disciplinary commission is a completely independent body and the president of UEFA has nothing to do with all that," he said.

"I don't get involved with disciplinary issues or referees."

But the former France star reiterated that UEFA is a neutral organisation.

"UEFA is neutral, firm and respects everyone," he said.

"The referees don't favour Barcelona more than Real Madrid, nor Juventus more than AC Milan."

Platini says the organisation has a fight on its hands to eliminate violence and corruption cases from the game.

"We are fighting and we will always fight against those things. Racism and violence are external circumstances in football - individuals who go to the stadium for political reasons," he said.

"Then there are other factors relative to the game, namely illegal betting - those affect the players directly, they affect me, they affect everyone.

"We have to eliminate it radically, but I need the collaboration of the governments. We are talking about investigations that have already begun, but that are very dangerous. There's a lot of money at stake and I need the governments, the judges and the justice system to help us eradicate the problem."