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Platini open to Balkan regional league

"I am not at all opposed to the idea," Platini told a news conference after a meeting with Serbian Football Federation (FSS) chief Tomislav Karadzic and government officials.

"But not being opposed to something doesn't mean I am automatically for it. At the moment, the UEFA statute does not allow such an option.

"It requires a joint soccer and political project by several countries in the region and their unified ambition to compete in a single league.

"If there are enough interested parties and the project turns out to be feasible, the UEFA executive committee would be prepared to look at it and make a decision.

"It is an interesting initiative and such a league would give teams from this part of Europe a chance to compete on a higher level with their wealthier Western rivals."

"UEFA has zero tolerance for violence and racism and we all know that Serbian fans have not behaved as well as we would have liked them to in the past few years," he said.

The Serbian FA paid a heavy fine after their fans racially abused England's black players at the Under-21 European Championship in the Netherlands in 2007.