Michel Platini and Sepp Blatter, presidents of UEFA and FIFA respectively, arrived in St Petersburg this week to take part in celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the Russian Football Union.

Platini said “First of all, I wish a happy birthday to the RFU. Secondly, I wish you a successful performance and a Russian victory at Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine. Thirdly, I wish Zenit and CSKA a successful performance in the playoffs of the Champions League.”

Showing favouritism should be a touchy subject, especially for FIFA president Blatter who was at the centre of the corruption storm in 2011 when Russia were awarded the hosting of World Cup 2018 over stronger bid from England.

Russian president Vladimir Putin also expressed his wishes to Sepp Blatter that he keep on Russia’s Minister of Sport, Vitaly Mutko as a member of the FIFA executive committee as his term is shortly to expire.