Platini happy with Euro 08

Frenchman Michele Platini has praised the opening games of the Euro 2008 tournament, believing that Switzerland and Austria are proving to be very good hosts.

"We have passed the first milestone, with eight matches now already behind us," Platini told www.UEFA.com.

"All the teams have played and all the stadiums have hosted their first match.

"We've seen some great football, with some exciting action and a quantity of goals which is well within the average for a 16-team European Championship.

"There is no denying that the instructions calling for respect have had an undeniable impact.

"On the field, and this is the most significant effect, we've seen a spectacular decrease in the number of yellow and red cards. In fact, no red cards have been shown so far and the number of yellow cards is down by 40 percent compared with Euro 2004."