Football Leagues/ Association and Governance
Sepp Blatter has left England fans in no doubt who is to blame for their country's failure to qualify for the European Championships currently being held in Austria and Switzerland - the English Premier League.
According to Blatter, the Premier League has not only weakened the England team by curtailing the development of English players through the over-reliance on foreign talent but is also helping other countries' national teams by giving their players experience of playing in a top European league.
"Football is unpredictable and sometimes without any logic but it is a fact that in the strongest English teams the best players are not always English," Blatter said in an interview with Reuters. "So where are the best English players coming from? They are coming from the less strong teams, which is weakening the English national team.
"What is happening in England is that the best teams are preparing the national team players for England's opponents. The Premier League has benefited the other countries taking part in the European championships, but not England."
However, it could also be argued that the Premier League's diversity has helped with English players' development - a train of thought which Blatter seems intent on ignoring.
Uefa president Michel Platini also put the boot over the weekend, claiming in L'Equipe that English clubs have "cheated" by financing success through loans. This seems to be rather one-sighted, though, given that newspaper reports in Spain and revealed in the Independent suggest Real Madrid have been forced to take out a £24.5 million loan to cover day-to-day costs.
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21 October 2010
21 October 2010
21 October 2010
20 October 2010
20 October 2010
