Platini- Players cannot retire from international football.

Marty___Mcfly · Sep 11, 2014

I like this. 'Retiring' is a load of rubbish. All it means is 'If I get called up, I'm going to say no.' I might tell the Mrs I have retired from washing up and see how that goes down....

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/sep/11/franck-ribery-france-michel-platini-pressure

Franck Ribéry has insisted he has no plans to reverse his decision to retire from international football despite pressure from the Uefa president, Michel Platini.

Last month, the Bayern Munich forward announced he had played his final game for France, having been forced to miss the World Cup with a back injury. That decision was heavily criticised by Platini, who also threatened the 31-year-old with a ban if he ignores a future call-up from Didier Deschamps.

But Ribéry believes the issue has already been resolved and is adamant he will not change his mind. “I have already said before I have retired from international duty and I will not go back on my decision,” he told the German newspaper Der Welt.

“I have discussed this with France coach Deschamps and we reached an agreement on it. I want to focus completely on Bayern Munich in the future. That’s all I want to say about the matter. I am not going to get involved in all the politics surrounding my decision.”

Platini threatened Ribéry with suspension if he sticks with his decision, stating that it was not down to the player to decided when to retire. “If Deschamps calls him up, then he has to come to the national team,’’ Platini said. “That’s written in the Fifa statutes. If he doesn’t report for duty, then he would be banned for three matches for Bayern Munich.

“It is not the player’s decision whether he represents his country, it’s the decision of the coach. Ribéry cannot simply decide for himself whether he wants to play for France or not.”

beorhthelm · Sep 11, 2014

Marty___Mcfly said:
I like this. 'Retiring' is a load of rubbish. All it means is 'If I get called up, I'm going to say no.'

yes, that is what retiring means.

Kumquat · Sep 11, 2014

You clearly have not had the requisite training in how to deal with what you quaintly call "the mrs." My girlfriend would be horrified if I actually offered to do the washing up. It'sonly happenend twice and quite rightly the implied inference that she hadn't scrubbed a couple of plates properly prior to that was met with an increased vigour on her part to ensure she got it right. A few tears were shed too.

The Fifth Column · Sep 11, 2014

Im not sure Platini has any power to enforce this, Ribery is contracted to play for Bayern however he is not contracted to play for France so is free to choose either way, if he gets suspended for Bayern for not playing for France then I think Platini may be on dodgy ground from a legal viewpoint.

Pavilionaire · Sep 11, 2014

Instinctively I feel that an outside body interfering in somebody's very personal decision is just wrong. Why shouldn't Ribery be allowed to give his all to Bayern Munich if he so chooses? They are the ones who are setting him up for life financially.

UEFA and FIFA will worry that if high profile players "retire" then many others will follow suit, devaluing international football and the top tournaments. They are right to be concerned about this but, as usual, have acted with a lack of foresight. There are simply too many friendlies and meaningless international matches, meaning that the annual grind of international football is too much for many players, especially those the wrong side of 30. But we've known about this for years - most teams have had players retire early, i.e. Scholes and Carragher for England.

So whilst player salaries continue to rise and top level club football becomes ever more pressurised what does UEFA do? Permit teams like Gibraltar to join the federation on an equal footing to the top nations, then widen the Euro Finals from 16 to 24 teams. England by beating Switzerland have basically automatically qualified for the 2016 Finals. This situation is an absolute joke. Get rid of all international friendlies, replace them with mini-tournaments, make the minnows go through a qualifying phase. It's one thing improving a country's standards by exposing them to better competition but a line has to be drawn. Have Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, San Marino got any better over the last 25 years by being mercilessly thrashed 10 times a year? I don't think so.

father_and_son · Sep 11, 2014

If a player feels he is finally of the age when playing club and international football is too much of a physical strain and risks shortening what's left of his career then Platini should be told to go f*ck himself.

Hate Blatter but REALLY don't want him replaced by this kn*b jockey!

Frampler · Sep 11, 2014

I really despise Platini. This has not changed my views.

Creaky · Sep 11, 2014

father_and_son said:
If a player feels he is finally of the age when playing club and international football is too much of a physical strain and risks shortening what's left of his career then Platini should be told to go f*ck himself.

Hate Blatter but REALLY don't want him replaced by this kn*b jockey!

So is it right that a player should be able to refuse to play for the national team as and when it suits them because that is what is being suggested by saying it is up to the player to decide whether or not they are good enough or fit enough to play.

If this stance is taken then you are opening players up to pressure from their clubs to refuse to play in internationals.

Easy 10 · Sep 11, 2014

Shocking buffoonery from the gallic goon.

Even if he FORCED Ribery to play for France (which he obviously can't), exactly what kind of performance would he expect to get from him in a France shirt, knowing that he no longer wants to play for his country ?

Idiot.

Pavilionaire · Sep 11, 2014

As a point of consistency, Philipp Lahm announced his retirement from the German side immediately after the World Cup. He is 7 months younger than Ribery.

So why no outcry from Platini at that point? Lahm was the captain of the World Champions, a vital cog in the renaissance of the German side.

Funnily enough, it is France who are hosting the UEFA Euro 2016 Finals. It is no surprise they got that gig with Platini at the helm, now you have to wonder whether he fears some sort of 'Brazil vs Germany' meltdown from his side at his tournament.

He's got the potential to make Blatter look like Mother Theresa.

Kumquat · Sep 11, 2014

I think the sentiment on platini's part is excellent but he is naive if he thinks he can do anything. Generally I think it's a sad reflection on football and the way it has been going in some ways. It's been used as an excuse for not being picked a lot of the time, but also the move away from an affiliation to national team to club team. And I don't think the latter is necessarily a bad thing. As a Brighton supporter since I knew anything, if I'd ever had a chance to be amazing at football and play for them, I'd certainly choose them over the national team if I ever had to make that choice. But maybe that just makes me a product of my era. Maybe if i'd been born 20 years earlier in the same situation i'd have fought to play for Engand. I think the likes of Scholes who retired deserve some credit for being loyal to the people who nurtured him and paid him.

JCL - the new kid in town · Sep 11, 2014

Didn't they go through this years ago with Makelele and forced him to play? or am i mis-remembering something?

beorhthelm · Sep 11, 2014

Creaky said:
So is it right that a player should be able to refuse to play for the national team as and when it suits them because that is what is being suggested by saying it is up to the player to decide whether or not they are good enough or fit enough to play.

no, its being suggested that the decision is one time and permanent, not as and when they chose.

Pavilionaire · Sep 11, 2014

Kumquat said:
I think the sentiment on platini's part is excellent but he is naive if he thinks he can do anything. Generally I think it's a sad reflection on football and the way it has been going in some ways. It's been used as an excuse for not being picked a lot of the time, but also the move away from an affiliation to national team to club team. And I don't think the latter is necessarily a bad thing. As a Brighton supporter since I knew anything, if I'd ever had a chance to be amazing at football and play for them, I'd certainly choose them over the national team if I ever had to make that choice. But maybe that just makes me a product of my era. Maybe if i'd been born 20 years earlier in the same situation i'd have fought to play for Engand. I think the likes of Scholes who retired deserve some credit for being loyal to the people who nurtured him and paid him.

Go back to the Golden Era of the 60s - we played about 40% fewer matches each year, and half of those were against Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland so positively local. Now players like James Milner and Glen Johnson have racked up more caps than real legends Like Jimmy Greaves and Geoff Hurst. Had that lot had to play Andorra, San Marino, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar etc I'm sure they wouldn't have been too happy about it either.

I'm actually surprised that there aren't MORE players who don't want to participate in international football. I don't think players attitudes have changed that much, if anything most players these days are MORE dedicated to their profession than in years gone by.

Gullflyinghigh · Sep 11, 2014

It's comforting to see the that the President of UEFA has finally decided to step up and make his voice heard on this most important of footballing issues. Forget any other topics, international retirement is clearly the one to focus on.

Obviously, it has nothing to do with Ribery being French. Nope.

Hamilton · Sep 11, 2014

And this is the man that some people want to replace Blatter. Frying pans and fires!

BensGrandad · Sep 11, 2014

Is Platini saying it is written into all players contracts that they must attend if called up.

father_and_son · Sep 11, 2014

Creaky said:
So is it right that a player should be able to refuse to play for the national team as and when it suits them because that is what is being suggested by saying it is up to the player to decide whether or not they are good enough or fit enough to play.

If this stance is taken then you are opening players up to pressure from their clubs to refuse to play in internationals.

Yes. There is a point at which the player is too old to maintain performance at the Club AND National level. It should most definitely be down to the player to determine when that is. Once a player makes that decision, however, it should always be a one-way street... no "coming out of retirement" b*llocks when it suits.

If a club pressurises a player and the player knuckles under then the player lives with those consequences for the rest of their career, even when they change clubs. If the player sees a future at National level when they have left their current club then the price they pay is to defy the club (but with the backing of FIFA rules).

Its not perfect but its better than making the whole thing voluntary or the whole thing compulsory.

Simster · Sep 11, 2014

UEFA made club football what it is today - financially dominated by the massive clubs in 4 or 5 countries, and now perhaps the players are turning against international football as a consequence.

Maybe UEFA are reaping what they've sowed. If the Champions League is the be all and end all in Ribery's eyes, well whose fault's that?

Gullflyinghigh · Sep 11, 2014

BensGrandad said:
Is Platini saying it is written into all players contracts that they must attend if called up.

No. Players are contracted to clubs not nations and I can't imagine any would have that particular clause in.

Players can be forced to attend competitive matches by their respective governing body I believe (or a medical examination if the club claim they're unfit to play) but nothing exists to say the same about friendly games.

Either way, Platini is suggesting that retiring from international football isn't something a player should have the power to do, so the nations could (and in Ribery's case should) still call them up, at which point refusal could, in theory, be punished.

Of course, he didn't seem to give a flying when most of the World Cup winning squad retired...or, in fact, anyone barring Ribery.

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