Platini pledges to fight for 2018 World Cup in Europe

UEFA president Michel Platini has said he would urge FIFA chief Sepp Blatter to stick to his guns by making sure Europe is awarded the 2018 World Cup finals.

"He had originally agreed to a three-year rotation in the past with Europe getting it on the third year, so I will push for him to stick to this," European soccer's top official told a briefing in London.

Last month, Blatter - president of soccer's world governing body FIFA - said there was no guarantee that the game's showpiece event would return to European soil in 2018 under a review of FIFA's rotation policy.

Under the existing arrangement, the tournament is awarded to a European country every three years, but FIFA will make a decision on this system and the awarding of the 2014 finals - expected to be given to Brazil - in November.

"It's not so democratic as there are six confederations but as president I will do my best," Platini said.

The 2010 finals are being staged in South Africa. Blatter said the 2018 event should be held in North America, but Asia and Europe could not be ruled out. He also pointed to Russia as a possible contender.

Moscow has not submitted any bid to date, although Russia is in the running for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

The United States and China have both indicated their interest, while Britain and Benelux - Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands - are also expected to launch a bid in Europe. Spain and Italy have also been tipped as possible contenders.

Security in stadiums

Platini also stated this week that European Union governments should get rid of fences in all stadiums across the 27-member bloc as part of new EU standards for sports.

Platini's call came a day after EU sports ministers proposed strengthening security measures at sports events in the EU, including new EU-wide standards for stadiums and security personnel.

"I'm totally against fences, but these issues are dealt with by the governments and local authorities.

"I would like to see them removed," Platini told the briefing in London.

Manchester United fans were caught in a crush at a recent Champions League match between their team and French club Lille in the city of Lens, sparking criticism from Blatter.

Blatter blamed the fences at Lens's Felix-Bollaert Stadium for the heightened danger while Platini recalled that as co-president of France's 1998 World Cup organising committee he tried to persuade Lens to remove them.

"When you cage people in they react like animals and I don't mean that in a nasty way, but the instinct is to fight your way out," Platini said.

Britain has already introduced legislation that prohibits fencing in soccer stadiums following various crowd problems, some of which led to the deaths of fans.

EU government officials said a number of recommendations proposed by their ministers were mainly based on the British model.

Platini also praised the British authorities and football associations for their tackling of the problem of hooliganism.

In the last month, authorities in France, Germany, Spain and Serbia have had to deal with violent incidents linked to soccer.

On Monday, Platini sought the help of governments in a bid to rid soccer of increased violence and racism, saying the game's authorities could "not act alone" in dealing with the increasing off-the-pitch problems.