No problem with Lyon-Dinamo match - Platini

14 December 2011 20:17

UEFA president Michel Platini said Wednesday he had no reason to believe Lyon's 7-1 win at Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League last week was "suspicious."

"It is reasonable to question such a large score in the match, but I fully respect the institution of the Champions League and therefore I have no doubt about the integrity of the contest," Platini was quoted as saying in an interview published in Greek daily Sportday.

Instead, Platini said, the result could simply be put down to the Dinamo goalkeeper or defence having "a bad day."

"Why was nothing said about the Valencia-Genk match (on November 23) which ended 7-0?

"There will only be an investigation of any match if something suspicious has come to the attention of the referee or the match observers," Platini added.

Lyon's win, coupled with a 3-0 home defeat for Ajax against Real Madrid, took them through to the last 16 of the Champions League for the ninth season running but, in certain circles, raised questions about match-fixing.

Platini insisted European football's governing body is continuing its fight against rigged matches.

"We are working hard to fight corruption and we do generally address the problem of fixed matches," he said.

"In football there are millions of nice things, but there are some problems that we must solve."

He said people involved in fixing matches "have no place in the world of football."

"The same applies to other problems in football, such as hooliganism. We will support the national federations to combat these issues."

Platini also said UEFA will continue to lend a helping hand to find ways to stop violence and corruption in Greek football, which was rocked by a match-fixing scandal at club level in the summer.

Source: AFP