Johansson vs Platini - presidential policies

A comparison between the election policies of Lennart Johansson and Michel Platini who face each other in a vote for the UEFA presidency at the UEFA Congress in Duesseldorf on Friday:

Champions League
Johansson does not want to change the format of the Champions League. Platini wants the big countries like England, Spain, Germany and Italy to lose one place which would be allocated to other countries.

Soccer's Problems
Both identify racism, agents, match-fixing and doping as problems that need solving.

Johansson: "We need to take even more effective action on betting, match-fixing and doping and to put in place a new European-wide system of rules to regulate agents and to end abuses.

"There is much to be done and we cannot rest until racism is once and for all kicked out of football."

Platini: "I will fight to intensify the struggle against the curses that threaten our sport: racism and xenophobia, various forms of fraud, the unacceptable side of the agents' profession, drug use and the potential use of football as a route for laundering money.

"I stand for clean football."

European Law
Again, both agree on closer ties with the European Union. Both believe soccer should govern itself, not national courts of law.

Solidarity In Soccer
Both men are agreed that UEFA's financial muscle should benefit the national associations and soccer at all levels, not just at the top of the pyramid.

Personal Statement:
Johansson: "For me, football represents the game we all dream about, the ambitions we all have, the emotions we all feel, the values we all share."

Platini: "Being president of UEFA means accepting serious responsibilities, guiding the leading sport in Europe. But it also means doing everything possible to ensure that the light of innocence and wonder a football inspires in the eyes of a child never goes out."