UEFA is prepared to move the Champions League semifinals and final to June in 2022 to accommodate a winter World Cup in Qatar, the European body's president Michel Platini said on Wednesday.
Platini said a solution to deciding the dates of the tournament was now "not so far" and that it would not be a problem to move the Champions League -- something that could prove to be an important compromise.
A FIFA task force to decide on the dates met on Monday and afterward FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said it had identified November-December 2022 and January-February 2022 as the most likely options in order to avoid the fierce heat of June and July. A final decision is expected in March.
Platini, speaking on his first visit to St George's Park, England's national football centre in Burton-on-Trent, said: "As the president of the confederation I have no problem ... because it is not a problem for the competition of the Champions League, we can move the dates in 2022 and have two semifinals and the final in June, so that is not a problem."
Platini had previously been insistent that the 2022 World Cup should be played in January rather than November -- and said that was because November could affect up to six international calendar dates in that month, October and September beforehand.
He added: "Everybody speaks about the clubs and the leagues but if it is in November and December then you lose six dates of the national teams. But we are not so far away with FIFA. We are not so far from a good solution.''
Playing in January 2022 would cause severe friction with the International Olympic Committee over the timing of its winter Olympics -- and FIFA president Sepp Blatter has guaranteed it would not do so.
Asked about that issue, Platini said: "That is FIFA, they don't want to clash with the Olympic Committee but the rest of the world wants to find the best solution for the football."
In a wide-ranging interview, Platini said he understood why Barcelona's ex-Liverpool striker Luis Suarez, banned for four months for biting an opponent during the World Cup, had not been nominated for the Ballon d'Or because player behaviour is one of the components of the award.
He said: "If the Ballon d'Or is on the quality of the player then naturally he deserves to be on the list. But if you consider the player's behaviour then that creates a little problem. This is a guy who was suspended for four months by FIFA. If the Ballon d'Or is a question of behaviour then I agree that he should not be on the list."
The UEFA president also admitted he had been surprised to read reports that the United States' former FIFA member Chuck Blazer had agreed to be bugged by the FBI for meetings with football officials during the London Olympics.
The New York Daily News reported that Blazer agreed to take a bug hidden inside a key ring into meetings, some of which took place in London. He was under investigation by the FBI and tax authorities for millions in unpaid taxes, the newspaper said.
Platini said: "That was a big surprise. I know Chuck, he's a good friend of mine and the last time I went to New York I went to see him in the hospital because he has a small cancer.
"I was very surprised when I read that in the newspaper.
"I read it was in London but I was not there and we never speak about that.''
Platini also described St George's Park as a "beautiful'' facility that would help England develop better players.
He added: "But it's not just about having this place -- you have to have the coaches and the people who can create good players. If you have good players in England then the clubs will not go abroad to bring in players."