Champions League door could still open to cup winners

UEFA president Michel Platini has revived the prospect of FA Cup winners qualifying for the Champions League.

Platini first launched a proposal for domestic cup winners to take a qualifying slot two years ago but was forced to withdraw it after opposition from the European leagues.

Now the UEFA president has returned to the issue - but admits doing so would be "complicated".

Platini told Fox Sports: "It's difficult to change the tournament because it's a great success.

"The access list is something we can think about for the future and I am always feeling and thinking that the winners of the cup perhaps they have to participate in this competition.

"They are champions as they have won a trophy and this is the Champions League.

"But it's complicated and very difficult."

Platini's original proposal would see the domestic cup winners take the lowest qualifying spot from a league, in England's case the place in the final qualifying round that goes to the fourth-placed side in the Premier League.

He dropped the proposal, however, in return for changes to the competition which allowed more places in the group phase for national league champions from smaller nations.

Platini also welcomed the International FA Board's decision to grant a further two years for experiments to take place using his idea of an extra two assistant referees behind each goal-line.

He added: "The eyes of one referee can never cover all the field of the game.

"In American Football you have five or six referees, in tennis you have 12 and the court is small. Let's play with human people and cover all the part of the field and I will show you that's better for the referee and you don't need technology."