Quote of the Day

I attended an event at the request of the President of France, which as everyone knows is my country, and when I arrived I met the emir of Qatar and the prime minister of that emirate. No-one had told me they would be there. We had dinner together, but in the same way that I insist no-one told me the Qataris would be there, I can say with my hand on my heart that President Sarkozy did not ask me to vote for Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup, not before, during or after this meeting. I understood that Sarkozy was keen on Qatar hosting the World Cup, but he didn’t ask anything of me.”

UEFA president Michel Platini tells Spanish newspaper AS, that while former French president Nicolas Sarkozy didn’t tell him to support Qatar’s bid to host the 2022 World Cup, he made it clear which country he would like him to support.