Qatar Hero (Michel Platini)
Dolphins are Bastards (Art Print)

How do you question a football hero?

Michel Platini was one of the great players of his generation.

European champion with France.

Three consecutive Ballons d'Or.

A footballer of extraordinary intelligence, imagination and elegance.

Then he moved from the pitch into football politics.

And eventually came Qatar.

THE GOALSOUL INTERPRETATION

Qatar Hero — Dolphins Are Bastards takes its inspiration from football writer Philippe Auclair and his 2012 essay Qatar Hero for The Blizzard.

Auclair examined the contradiction surrounding Platini.

Here was one of France's greatest footballers — a man whose reputation as a player gave him an almost untouchable status — becoming one of the most powerful administrators in world football.

And one of the decisions attracting attention was his support for Qatar's successful bid to host the 2022 World Cup.

Auclair captured the difficulty of questioning a national football icon with a deliberately absurd comparison.

Criticising Platini in France, he suggested, was rather like arriving at a Greenpeace convention wearing a T-shirt declaring:

DOLPHINS ARE BASTARDS.

That's the starting point for the Goalsoul design.

Not an accusation of guilt.

A question about heroes.

Can admiration for the footballer survive questions about the administrator?

Can sporting greatness place someone beyond criticism?

And what happens when the beautiful game becomes entangled with politics, money and power?

The footballer was a hero.

The administrator became more complicated.

THE REFERENCE

The title references Philippe Auclair's Qatar Hero, published in The Blizzard, Issue Five, examining Platini and his support for Qatar's successful World Cup bid.

The deliberately provocative “Dolphins Are Bastards” line comes from Auclair's analogy about how difficult it could be to challenge Platini's reputation in France.

THE PRINT

An original Goalsoul Michel Platini football art print exploring the uncomfortable distance between footballing heroism and football politics through Philippe Auclair's writing on Platini and Qatar.

Produced as a premium Giclée art print for exceptional colour, detail and longevity.

30 × 40 cm · 40 × 50 cm · 60 × 80 cm

Michel Platini — Qatar Hero: Dolphins Are Bastards.

Goalsoul — Keeping the Game Beautiful.

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