War in Ukraine: "I call on Putin to immediately stop the shooting and bombing" (Michel Platini)

"I call on the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with whom I have often discussed football and sport, to immediately stop the shooting and bombing in Ukraine, to put an end to this aggression in order to initiate a real diplomatic dialogue without delay in favor of peace," wrote Michel Platini, three-time Ballon d'Or winner (1983, 1984 and 1985) and former UEFA president (2007-2015) in a statement sent to News Tank Football on 02/03/2022.

"I wanted to tell all my Ukrainian friends, all these great women and men that I have met in my career as a footballer and manager, how much I am at their side with my heart and my thoughts in these hours of suffering and horror," said the former French international.

"I admire their courage and their unity. They are an example for the rest of the world, and for each of us, of the universal fight for freedom," added Michel Platini.

"No war is fair. Human life is priceless," concluded the man who was in charge of European football at the time of the Euro 2012 organised by UEFA in Poland and Ukraine (with matches, on the Ukrainian side, in Kyiv…