Gill would shake up UEFA - Fergie

15 December 2012 09:34
Sir Alex Ferguson is pinning his hopes on Manchester United chief executive David Gill sorting out UEFA's disciplinary system. European football's governing body is under fire for the punishment handed out to the Serbian FA for the conduct of their players and supporters in the European Under-21 Championship play-off against England that caused such widespread revulsion. Even UEFA president Michel Platini is thinking of appealing against the £65,000 for racism handed out by the independent control and disciplinary panel, a punishment less than the £80,000 Nicklas Bendtner had to pay out for breaching advertising regulations at Euro 2012. There are many, including United defender Rio Ferdinand, who have little faith in UEFA's ability to sort the problem. On Thursday, Ferdinand claimed that UEFA is "not serious at all on racism". However, Ferguson believes Gill, who next May will stand for election to the 16-strong UEFA executive board, has the expertise required. "David Gill is very well respected," said Ferguson. "He is a fantastic chief executive. He is straight 100% black and white. "There is no hidden agenda. Everyone in the game knows that. Hopefully he can make an impact." Some kind of impact seems to be required, with Ferguson among those who believes UEFA have got it badly wrong over Serbia. "That kind of behaviour warranted more than £65,000," said Ferguson. "I am wondering if that was redressing the balance because one or two English players maybe didn't behave correctly and they tried to get the middle ground. "They are like that, UEFA, they want to try to be seen as fair and they were going to assess England's behaviour too." Since the two racism cases erupted around John Terry and Luis Suarez in 2011, negative headlines have been almost a weekly occurrence. The latest undesirable incident came at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday when a fan hurled a coin at Rio Ferdinand, drawing blood from a nasty cut close to the defender's eye. "It is happening every week at the moment," said Ferguson. "Didn't (Craig) Bellamy get struck by a coin against us with no real damage. "But it is dangerous and supporters have to realise it. I say that to my own supporters. "We don't need that reputation. We are going through a period where everything seems to be falling on top of football clubs. "Hopefully it is just a period and it will clear itself away and we will get back to what English football has been for the last 20-odd years. "Racism has been dealt with brilliantly by all the clubs. "It is a little period we hope is just a blip and we get back to addressing our country in a proper way."

Source: team_talk