Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger
admits he is stunned by Uefa president Michel Platini's attack on
him in an interview with a French newspaper.
Platini, the head of European football's governing body, fired a
couple of broadsides at the Arsenal manager during a frank
interview with Grenoble daily Dauphine Libere.
The former France international slammed Wenger for having a
business mentality rather than a football one.
And he also tore into the Gunners boss for calling for the
introduction of video replays to rule on questionable refereeing
decisions.
Wenger has been taken aback by Platini's criticisms.
"I am stunned by the aggressive content of Platini's words,"
Wenger told L'Equipe."I am effectively a supporter of
video assistance for referees, like all coaches, and I believe Uefa
have an important role to play in this.
"I am for sporting justice and Uefa must be the guarantor of
it."
Wenger added: "I am a supporter of good management of clubs, for
financial equilibrium.
"And Uefa must equally support this idea. I am fighting for the
future of the game and of football.
"I don't see why Uefa should take umbrage at ideas that are
different from their own."
In Platini's interview with Dauphine Libere, Wenger's name was
raised during a question about the introduction of video
technology.
Platini replied: "I like to talk about football, him (Wenger)
about business. We must stop with Wenger and all that."
Platini then said he hoped video assistance would never come
into football, adding: "It would make me happy that Arsene Wenger
never sees it."
Later in the interview, Platini again targeted Wenger when asked
about his thoughts on Romanian side CFR Cluj's unexpected victory
over Roma in the UEFA Champions League last week.
"That is what makes football so great," Platini said. "It is
what people like Wenger do not want, little clubs beating the big
clubs, because they want their business."