Statement from President of France, Emmanuel Macron, was unpleasant in the ears of Aleksander Ceferin (Image via: Sports Illustrated)

Ceferin's Anger over Macron's Statement

PARIS - Politics and sports should never walk hand in hand. At least, that is according to UEFA President, Aleksander Ceferin, after he heard the address from French President Emmanuel Macron at the opening of Women’s World Cup at Grand Palais, Paris. France got the honor to host 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup which will be held on 7 June to 7 July.

In front of Aleksander Ceferin and other guests at the event, Macron also stated that he is against UEFA’s latest proposal for Champions League. At the address and the reception held by the French President, no media was seen. Macron stated that UEFA should prioritize “solidarity”, and UEFA should be more “attentive” in terms of the changes in UCL.

France could be considered as one of the key players in soccer field. Looking back at their achievements, when they won 2018 World Cup, and also became one of the biggest extravagant leagues with superstars in it, Emmanuel Macron seems to consider that France’s voice in soccer is quite big enough to make a change.

In the latest proposal submitted by UEFA, 24 out of 32 teams shall retain their positions in UCL’s Group Stage. For Macron, this concept will only make UCL become an “exclusive” competition, and smaller teams will never get chance to prove themselves in the competition later on.

“Surprisingly, this is a clear politic interference over sports,” stated Ceferin in a unpleasant tone. Ceferin then added that sports cannot be dictated by anybody, even leaders of countries. “Concerning solidarity that he mentioned earlier, we (UEFA) know that well more than anyone else, since our competition gather solidarity funds,” asserted Ceferin, reacting to Macron’s statement.

Meanwhile, this was not the first time Emmanuel Macron stepped onto the soccer pitch from his political stance. During his visit to Clairefontaine, the homebase for French National Team, Macron also sparked little controversies by declaring his disagreement over the concept by UEFA’s President.

Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/dcunited/fifa-members-gather-ahead-of-infantinos-re-election/2019/06/04/c2ea6610-86a6-11e9-9d73-e2ba6bbf1b9b_story.html?utm_term=.059ee786966d