Old pals: Nigel De Jong and Mario Balotelli on their visits to Auschwitz

But Platini defended UEFA’s record, arguing: ‘I don’t see why clubs and players should be responsible for their fans. I don’t see why a club should be deducted three points and maybe get relegated because their fans are racist.

‘We have come up with the best solution — we stop the game. We have given the advice that the referee should do this for a time, we have said they can cancel the game if racism continues to raise its head.’

Yet Platini admitted he had not watched the Panorama documentary that exposed the racist, violent thugs who follow some Ukrainian clubs. ‘This is a problem for society, not just for football, and I am not the president of society,’ Platini said. ‘If you look at the whole world, and Europe in particular, there is more and more nationalism.

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