Former UEFA president Michel Platini has claimed a little trickery was used in the 1998 World Cup draw to increase the chances of France and Brazil meeting in the final.
Michel Platini
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Former UEFA president Michel Platini has claimed a little trickery was used in the 1998 World Cup draw to increase the chances of France and Brazil meeting in the final. Platini is serving a four-year ban from involvement in football — reduced twice from an original eight-year sanction — after he was found guilty of receiving a disloyal payment from then-FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
The former France and Juventus playmaker was a co-president of the organising committee at France 98 and admitted the group allocations for seeded teams were made with an eye on a dream final. Brazil were placed in Group 'A', as was the standard practice at the time for the defending champions, with France then allocated to Group 'C' — meaning if both teams won their groups, they could not meet before the final. That was how it turned out, with France triumphing 3-0 at the Stade de France.
"France-Brazil in the final, it was the dream of everyone," Platini said. "There was a little trickery," Platini said. "We did not spend six years organising the World Cup to not do some little shenanigans. Do you think other World Cup hosts did not?"
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