UEFA Euro 2012: Gullit opposes yellow cards for protesting racism

Ruud Gullit opposes UEFA President Michel Platini's insistence that European Championship players should be given a yellow card if they walk off the pitch in protest at racist abuse.

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The Netherlands great joined other black former players on Friday to launch a UEFA-backed "Respect Diversity" campaign which runs through the three-week tournament in Poland and Ukraine.

"I don't agree so much about the yellow and red cards," said Gullit, who captained the Dutch team to victory at Euro 1988.

Gullit added that overall he backed UEFA's efforts to tackle the issue of racism which has dominated the final days leading to Friday's kickoff.

Former Tottenham forward Garth Crooks called on Platini to relax his stance on strictly upholding the laws of football which demand sanctioning players who leave the pitch.

Football "must find a better way" to deal with the problem, said Crooks, a longstanding pundit for British state broadcaster the BBC, whose recent documentary on racism in the host countries fueled the debate.

"To book a player because he feels psychologically that he cannot continue for whatever reason - it's not an excuse to caution him, he said.

Gullit and Crooks spoke alongside Nigerian-born former Poland striker Emmanuel Olisadebe and former England Under-21 international Paul Elliott.

UEFA secretary general Gianni Infantino suggested after the launch event, hosted by the Polish foreign ministry, that players who protested could be reprieved later.

Asked by reporters if yellow cards could be rescinded by UEFA's disciplinary system, Infantino said: "Maybe. Of course this can be done."

Infantino outlined a three-step process which UEFA has asked match referees to follow in the event of racial abuse in the eight Euro 2012 stadiums.

First, a warning would be broadcast to fans over the stadium loudspeakers; for a second offense, the referee would halt the match and take the teams off the pitch; for a third incident after the game resumed, the referee would abandon the match, Infantino said.

Throughout this process, stewards and stadium security officials monitoring closed-circuit cameras would seek to remove the fans thought responsible.

"Any banner that is visible will be taken out immediately, of course, and even people should not think they can hide because today, everything is watched," Infantino said.