Platini: Clubs should not be punished for racism

Clubs found guilty of racist abuse from their supporters can incur a fine and be forced to close a section of their stadium by UEFA, but Platini believes those responsible should be targeted instead.

CSKA Moscow were the latest side to receive sanctions after a section of their supporters were found guilty of racist chanting aimed at Manchester City's Yaya Toure during their UEFA Champions League clash in October.

They will be forced to play in front of a reduced capacity when they face Bayern Munich later this month, and Platini insists that is the way to handle the issue.

"You can’t punish players, officials, clubs for something that they didn’t do," the Frenchman said during a visit to Moscow. "You have to punish the spectators.

"We've discussed this problem at the UEFA congress. If one footballer abuses the other he's banned for the offence. But for the unruly behaviour of fans we have to penalise the spectators.

"We had and will always have zero tolerance to racism. You can close the stadiums partially or completely in case of the fans' racist behaviour."