all eyes on paris ahead of euro draw
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

Michel Platini fights to save his career

All eyes on Paris ahead of Euro draw

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today All eyes on Paris ahead of Euro draw

UEFA President Michel Platini
Paris - Arab Today

In the same week that Michel Platini fights to save his career, the draw for the finals of the expanded 24-team European Championship that he championed takes place in Paris on Saturday.

The former France star, who propelled his country to glory as a player when they last hosted the Europeans in 1984, was widely criticised in his role as the UEFA president for changing the format of a tournament that had been so compelling with 16 teams, in particular in 2012 when Spain triumphed in Poland and Ukraine.

But the decision to expand led to a much more engaging qualifying competition and has added intrigue ahead of the draw for the finals itself where nations like Wales, Northern Ireland, Iceland and Albania will join the continent's traditional giants.

Whether Platini will be in attendance at the ceremony in Paris hinges on him winning his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against a 90-day ban from all footballing activities while an investigation goes on into a payment he received from FIFA in 2011.

Platini risks being unable to stand in the FIFA presidential election but he is also in danger of having to look on from a distance as the European Championship is played out in his home country.

"We have been preparing for this tournament for five and a half years with Michel Platini as the UEFA president. Because this Euro is taking place in France, he has made a special effort to help with the preparation," said Jacques Lambert, the head of the tournament organising committee.

"He has been very close to all the decisions that have structured the preparation and it is heartbreaking to imagine the Euro taking place without him."

- Delicate -

While UEFA are in a flux, with general secretary Gianni Infantino also standing for the FIFA presidency, the finals draw comes at a delicate time for France.
This is a country that remains in a state of emergency after the Paris terror attacks of November 13 that left 130 dead, and so security will be extremely tight around the draw itself as the coaches of the 24 nations arrive to discover their fate.

France boss Didier Deschamps may have been waiting for this moment but he is also distracted by the blackmail affair in which his leading striker Karim Benzema is caught up in relation to a sex-tape featuring his international colleague Mathieu Valbuena.

Currently banned from encountering Valbuena, Real Madrid star Benzema has stated his hope that he can return to the squad in time for the finals despite being charged by police in the case.

Les Bleus will be among the top pot of seeds, which also contains a Spain side gunning for an unprecedented third straight European Championship title, world champions Germany, England, Portugal and Belgium.

England's status as one of the top seeds may have surprised some given their struggles at recent tournaments and the fact that Italy, runners-up at Euro 2012, lurk dangerously in pot two.

"I believe in the players and, given the opportunities, we can become a good team but we are young, we are inexperienced -- nothing is going to change that," England manager Roy Hodgson admitted last month.

"If they do fail it might just be because of inexperience or a lack of quality."

A good draw will help, although there will be some margin for error given that the four best third-placed sides from the six groups will go through to the last 16.

There is a good chance that England will face one of Wales, Northern Ireland or the Republic, who are all in the last pot along with Turkey, Iceland and Albania, the latter two appearing at a first major finals.

The big name missing, of course, will be the Netherlands, semi-finalists at the last World Cup who contrived to finish fourth in their qualifying group.
Source: AFP

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

all eyes on paris ahead of euro draw all eyes on paris ahead of euro draw

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

all eyes on paris ahead of euro draw all eyes on paris ahead of euro draw

 



GMT 13:42 2015 Saturday ,04 April

Libyan warplane targets camp in Gharyan town

GMT 15:14 2017 Wednesday ,01 March

UN documents nearly 1,500 child soldiers in Yemen

GMT 07:24 2017 Sunday ,01 October

Mexico unlikely to find more quake survivors

GMT 16:15 2015 Wednesday ,11 November

German intelligence 'spied' on Fabius, FBI, UN bodies

GMT 01:32 2017 Saturday ,15 April

Russia's Putin earns about 157,000 USD in 2016

GMT 16:30 2017 Saturday ,15 July

Minister of planning gives priority

GMT 19:45 2017 Wednesday ,05 April

President of Senegal Meets Attorney General

GMT 05:18 2017 Thursday ,21 September

Over 80 missing after migrant boat sinks off Libya

GMT 19:22 2017 Saturday ,01 April

UN: Number of Syrian Refugees Tops 5 million

GMT 15:16 2016 Thursday ,29 September

FBI to put up database on police use of deadly force

GMT 05:06 2016 Friday ,30 September

Indian markets open flat
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday