When did two wrongs make a right! We all know the game is rotten to the core. It does not matter which side of the channel you sit, or who is the least rotten! It is still rotten. Too much politics, too much money, too much diving, too many incorrect decisions. Give me darts anyday!

James, London, UK

Great article with points very well made.
There is no doubt that Platini does have an axe to grind when it comes to the English game. Yet he has no words of disgust for Real Madrid who are yet again flouting international transfer rules in their pursuit of Ronaldo.

Graeme, Glasgow,

Been some brilliant articles recently Martin. Keep up the good work mate.

Warren, Southport, Merseyside

Excellent article, Fifa and Uefa have been picking on English football for a long time. Its about time they accepted the fact that the EPL has the best business plan. Chelsea, even in thier extravagant purchases, are much more dignified than the Milans, Barcelonas and Madrids.

Shomok, columbus, USA

The EPL has lost its soul and I am no longer a fan. Football is a business but not reducible to that. EPL grandees reduce everything to a business model: buy players rather than make them, fans are consumers, win rather than create, give the CL title to the richest team - no need to play for it.

Raymond, Los Angeles, USA

Platini is the single biggest problem in world football, with agenda's and motive's that are not relevant to his position.
Why are the people around him not speaking up?
Keep the pressure on him, nice article.

Rick H, Cincinnati, OH

Ah yes, the familiar: "...but look at how corrupt these cheating foreigners are".
Madrid Tax payers did not fork out a penny! What the council did is give planning permission for prime real estate in central Madrid to be turned into a public park and office Space. What's the issue?

Robert , London, UK

maybe someone in the press can remind Platini of his fine he had to pay whilst at St Ettiene for dodgy accounting.

bri, liverpool,

well done sam,keep it up ur good work.But I have doubts regarding the repayment of huge United loan,I dont know how Glazers are going to work this out.

khaled, DUBAI, UAE

I agree, a great article. Plattini is a strange one but typical of all foreign views on our succesful Premier League. They just want to dismantle it because of its success. I wish we could just break away from Uefa at times but the cup games are too enjoyable to watch especially as english teams win

Chris Byfield, Birmingham,

A really good article. Ive been to many countries in the world & the Premier league is big just about everywhere. I myself am not an Englishmen but in South Africa where im from its huge. Even when Italy was the best league we still were watching the EPL. Its simply the best.

Jerry, Johannesburg, South Africa

Martin, by far your best column so far this year. I agree with every word. You should CC it to Blather and Platini although I'm not sure it would do much good. It's the same in Rugby Union you know; if England win they set about changing the rules.

Robert Laundon, London, UK

Paul Ince -- English readers might be interested to learn that merit usually trumps race in pro basketball & football coaching in US, but in college football -- a mega revenue producer -- wealthy alums, overwhelmingly white, rarely are willing to entrust the head coaching job to a person of color

Al Snider, Allendale, NJ, USA

Chelsea are the richest and Man United the world's best run football business. A rich owner isn't illegal and neither is great marketing after 20 years of success. Arsenal and Liverpool outperforming with similar or fewer resources to the major European clubs reflects badly but not on them or EPL.

Mike, Houston, USA

Since Sepp Blatter's "6+5" rule is to avoid another European Champions League final of two Premiership teams, why not introduce instead a handicapping system where Premiership sides start all matches a goal down ? This would achieve the required result without EU employment legislation problems.

Temple, Sevenoaks, UK

Mr Samuel, I must confess that I've not always been your biggest fan but I do still read your articles with keen interest and this morning you did not disappoint! I whole heartedly agree with you. Quite clearly Platini does have some sort of anti-English agenda. I guess that makes me a cynic!

TIM BOYCE, Epping, England

Chelsea - Man U - Liverpool players
regularly play for England .

And yet- we cannot even finish in the top 2 of a Euro group.

So now that Euro 2008 is going on without a single GB player on the pitch, you still have to rant and rant on.

L.R.Leong-Son, Aylesbury, England

Foreign Quotas should be abandoned for Quotas on the number of over 23 yr olds in each premiership squad - the demise of the England team is due to not allowing English talent a chance to shine - Newcastle - 3 players under the age of 23 - team packed full of foreigners -young english talent nowhere

Geoff Jones, Mountain Ash, Wales

All Manchester United's money comes from thier fans. The Glazers are if anything taking money OUT!

Chelsea's situation is completely the opposite, they have a rich owner putting money IN (it appears as debt, but will never be repaid).

Platini is econmically illiterate to confuse these.

Nick, France,

I think it is a shame that English football fans can turn this into the usual petty dispute about who does more for English football when the attacks from Blatter and Platini are aimed at our game as a whole.

Excellent article, points well made.

John, SPP, Guernsey

"Except my best England team contains three Chelsea players, four Manchester United players and a Liverpool player. Maybe Blatter, left, cannot count. Maybe he does not want to. "

Maybe you don't want to do the maths. How many of them are playing in Euro 2008?

Marco, Dublin, Ireland

Legislation prevents clubs in Italy, France and Germany from getting knee deep into debt. UEFA MUST create a level playing field. As for the business World someone give me examples of companies that are sold for a billion dollars yet only generate yearly, post tax profits of $1 million.

Mehdi, Middlesbrough, England

Nick Brent as an Arsenal fan should be throughly ashaimed of his club. How many English born players do his team field in any game ? Don't talk about splashing cash about, how does he think Arsenal aquired all thier players from abroad?

Martin Briggs, Heversham, England

as a Utd fan, i laugh at the views if an Arsenal supporter who tries to take the moral high ground in terms of splashing the cash and buying foreign...

michael, manchester,

Martin - The Marid council changed the zoning laws to allow Real Madrid to sell their training ground in 2001then paid them 480m euros of taxpayers money for the land to enable them to wipe out their 200m euro debt and fund the galacticos era - the EC investigated the hidden above land value subsidy

Lindsay Bell, Manchester,

Great article. As an Arsenal fan I hate the fact that Manchester United and Chelsea are able to splash the foreign cash but Platini should also sort these 'European Giants' out which seem to have no morals as well.

Nick Brent, London, UK

Its ridiculous that the name Champions League is even used when you have teams other than champions in the respective countries taking part.

UEFA should call the tournament by its proper name which is the European Cup and also abolish the seeding rubbish and have pure open draws like the FA Cup

Vivek, London, UK

The FA backing Pool's shameless inclusion in the CL, after failing to qualify, Masch & Tevez playing for 3 clubs in 1 season, the FA compressing Chelsea's fixtures to Tues & Thurs nights in the title run-in, are also examples of the 'hold' that leading clubs have over their game at national level !!

Garry Bromfield, Brisbane, Australia

Platini eh? What does he know?We don't need him telling us how to run our national game.Flipping John Foreign ! We are doing just fine.
Meanwhile back at the ranch,our players are busy planning £300,000 stag do's or deciding which sun lotion to use while
other countries are playing in EURO 2008

chris dee, london,

Platini doesn't understand basic mechanics of corporate structures. Debt is a corporate/government tool used to raise finance. To prove the point, is he aware that "equity" is debt too and that Man U is, therefore, less in "debt' now than before the Glazier's took over?

andrew, paris,

The problem for UEFA is that given the dominance of the large English, Spanish and Italian clubs, the interest in the Champions League is dwindling because clubs from the rest of Europe can not compete. Knocking England will not make the primary tournament of Europe any more interesting.

Iain - Luxembourg, Bertrange, Luxembourg

"while Chelsea may be a polonium milkshake away from a fierce fiscal reckoning"

belter of a line!

As for the rest of the article, good points well made.

Richard, Liverpool,

Well said! If Platini is truly concerned about football finances he could do no better then start with that dogs dinner UEFA have foisted on us with the ECL. Profit at the expense of
competition in that seeded '2 qualify from 4' league stage, and
an easy run into the last 16 for the rich clubs

les corbett, Worthing, uk

Who cares if Platini has double standards? Regardless of how Real Madrid or others conduct their business, we should be asking how English clubs conduct theirs. The Glazers continue to loan United funds with interest, and exposing Platini hardly ameliorates this fact.

John, London, UK

This outburst from Platini is typical French jealousy. No further motive needs to be looked for. The French have always been this way, especially where the British are concerned.

Rokola, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Thank you for calling a spade a spade. When Juve, Inter, Real and Barca are at it Platini smiles like a puppet but the le roastbeef? C'est terrible! 2018 here in England? No chance. We're clearly hated by the powers that be. Blatter, Platini they're all the same: C'est Anglais, C'est mauvais!

Myles Bailey, London, UK

So how is Madrid state subsidised?

Martin, Olama,

Yet again, you have inspired me, the words you write stir some inner anger in me, most specifically against FIFA. What you say is exactly what I have been ranting about for the last week. Shall we march on Zurich together and storm the FIFA headquarters? We could take our ball and play elsewhere

Martin, Berlin, Germany