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Sport
Liam O'Dell
Dec 13, 2021
Football fans united in anger on Wednesday after a “technical problem” meant the original Uefa Champions League Round of 16 draw was declared void.
Officials had to carry out the draw for a second time that afternoon after a tech issue with “the software of an external service provider” affected instructions “as to which teams are eligible to play each other”.
“A material error occurred in the draw for the Uefa Champions League Round of 16. As a result of this, the draw has been declared void and will be entirely redone at 3pm CET,” Uefa said in a statement.
It came after Manchester United were initially drawn to play against Villarreal, despite having already played against the club in the group stages.
The United ball then appeared to be left out for the draw to take on Atletico Madrid, before the team was matched up with Paris St-Germain.
If the game actually happened, then titans Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi would face each other on the pitch.
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It was, however, voided, and it was fair to say that fans weren’t impressed, with Uefa facing allegations that the first draw was “rigged”:
@ChampionsLeague @Ziyechman UEFA when they get caught rigging the draw for a Ronaldo-Messi tie https://t.co/IdytVj9GMs— The Ginger Pele (@The Ginger Pele) 1639399706
@ChampionsLeague Uefa https://t.co/g3RL9IifMv— Orhan (@Orhan) 1639399622
@ChampionsLeague You absolute hooligans— 𝙐𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝘼𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙖 (@𝙐𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝘼𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙖) 1639399965
@ChampionsLeague we're moving to a more serious competition! https://t.co/m1orMcqzGs— MainManMané (@MainManMané) 1639399617
@ChampionsLeague The best part is “external service provider”😂😂🙃🙃— LynnettM. (@LynnettM.) 1639399640
@ChampionsLeague “Following our poor attempt at cheating being caught on live TV, despite multiple rehearsals prior… https://t.co/pRk0nJMqJc— Adi (@Adi) 1639399845
@UEFA https://t.co/sg1n514Pf1— My name is Fausto but everybody calls me Faustino (@My name is Fausto but everybody calls me Faustino) 1639399463
@UEFA “Technical error” https://t.co/R3O1lRANXs— Veddie (@Veddie) 1639399496
@UEFA Someone explain in F1 terms?— Evin Paul (@Evin Paul) 1639399638
@UEFA Translation: We really wanted a Messi vs Ronaldo showdown and did everything possible to get it. Unfortunatel… https://t.co/vEZGcAiiHT— Red Marrow (@Red Marrow) 1639399828
@UEFA In football terms: we rigged the entire thing.— Xav Salazar (@Xav Salazar) 1639399597
@UEFA That external service provider right now… https://t.co/hpYMIUnfnJ— FootballFunnys (@FootballFunnys) 1639399546
@UEFA Simple terms: we wanted to rig but you caught us— TC (@TC) 1639399634
That bloody software….. https://t.co/AveImVE4vY— James Pearce (@James Pearce) 1639401018
Provided there weren’t any issues with an “external service provider” for the second time, then the official last-16 draw sees Manchester United now take on Atletico Madrid.
Meanwhile Paris St-Germain’s new opponent is Real Madrid.
The other pairings are:
- Liverpool vs Inter Milan
- Juventus vs Villareal
- Chelsea vs Lille
- Benfica vs Ajax
- Manchester City vs Sporting Lisbon
- Bayern Munich vs RB Salzburg
After that logistical nightmare, we think it’s ironic that Uefa weren’t really on the ball…