By Andrew Warshaw in London
September 21 – The English may have voted for his only rival but in his first overseas assignment since taking over from Michel Platini as UEFA president last week, protocol was duly observed when Alexsander Ceferin today attended the ceremonial unveiling of the official logo for the semifinals and finals of Euro 2020 being staged at Wembley.
Brainchild of Ceferin’s predecessor, the one-off pan-European tournament is being staged across 13 cities to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the tournament, with the climax coming to London.
After being formally introduced to fellow guests at London’s City Hall, Ceferin, seated next to the FA’s new chairman Greg Clarke, spoke of the iconic status of Wembley and of England being “the birthplace of football.”
Later, he told reporters he had “no problem” working with the FA despite the fact they were one of only 13 UEFA members out of 55 to vote against him and for Michael van Praag in Athens last week. “We had a nice conversation with your new chairman,” said Ceferin, clearly learning fast about how to say the right thing in the right place.
He also insisted there would be “no implications” of Britain’s decision to leave the European Union in terms of possible visas for overseas visitors. “We will work on that” he said, mustering all the diplomacy at his disposal.
The Slovenian FA boss has hardly been able to find his feet since his landslide victory in Athens but already he is having to deal with an inquisitive media. Asked to comment on claims in the Norwegian media that his federation last year used part of a Uefa loan to buy shares in a betting company, Ceferin shrugged the reports aside.
“It’s another joke from the same media ….who didn’t want me to get where I am,” he said. “UEFA has all the documents.”
Ceferin also refused to accept that the new Champions League format which comes into effect in 2018 and which has caused so much disharmony verging on fury, especially among European leagues, because of it favouring the Continent’s biggest clubs, is a fait accompli.
“I don’t necessarily agree with that,” said Ceferin who pledged in the wake of his election victory to make the new group-stage rules, agreed by UEFA’s top brass before he came to power, his biggest priority.
“Of course it’s not good for the smaller and mid-sized associations. There are both plusses and minuses and I will need to look at it. Can it be changed? Everything can change,” he said.
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