The UEFA boss is not kind to the supposed new El Dorado of football. While remaining inflexible in the face of the Russian case.
Saudi Arabia soon at the height of major European championships? Aleksander Ceferin, the president of UEFA, does not believe it for a second. In an interview given to the Slovenian media N1, the person concerned harshly judges the Saudi revolution observed this summer. “ I think this affair with Saudi Arabia will be short-lived. In my opinion, this is the wrong approach to football development for them. By bringing in players at the end of their careers, we do not develop football. »
A relatively limited vision of the phenomenon that appeared during the off-season if we consider the profile of the players who came to strengthen the Saudi Pro League, but which the boss of the continental body fully assumes by daring the parallel with the Chinese championship which a few years later earlier had attempted such a seduction operation. As for imagining a Champions League final in Saudi Arabia, here again, Aleksander Ceferin is very clear on the issue: “ For now, I don’t see the slightest chance of this happening… »
Russia still ruled out
The former Slovenian jurist thus sticks to his positions – an inflexibility which is also his with regard to the Russian case. Excluded on February 28, 2022 by UEFA and FIFA in response to the conflict initiated against Ukraine, Russia will remain excluded from international and European competitions overseen by UEFA (the Euro, the Champions League, the Europa League or the Europe Conference League) “ until the end of the war », insists Aleksander Ceferin.
