In an unusual development on Monday, UEFA was forced to announce that Champions League round 16 will have to be redrawn after the first attempt was broken due to technical problems.
The first draw, scheduled for noon CET / 6 a.m. ET, caused administrative chaos when software was used to instruct UEFA officials on which teams qualified to go head-to-head. each other went wrong during European football’s governing body’s home live event in Switzerland. This results in an error, like Manchester UnitedThe ball was accidentally dropped from the pot in the lottery to find Atlético Madridenemy of.
Problems arise when Villarreal drawn from the runner-up group and paired with United. According to UEFA rules, two teams that have faced each other in the group stage cannot face each other in the first knockout round. This prompted UEFA deputy general secretary Giorgio Marchetti to order a redraw of Villarreal’s opponents, with City of Manchester out of the pot a second time.
Atletico Madrid are in talks with UEFA about the UCL draw. UEFA is currently discussing whether the draw can take place in its current form. Redraw the decision to come within an hour is the word.
– Alex Shaw (@AlexShawESPN) December 13, 2021
Should the Champions League draw take place? 👀 pic.twitter.com/366xi1c10Y
– ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 13, 2021
United’s ball then appeared to have been accidentally left outside the box in the ensuing draw as Atletico Madrid picked their opponents from a small group without United, even though the two clubs were fully eligible to win. confront each other.
Make things worse, Liverpool is classified in the group capable of facing Atletico even though the two teams face each other in the group stage.
UEFA has not given a draw before as it was all computer programmed.
The calculator shows who is qualified to face each team.
But the computer said Villarreal could face anyone, including Man United and Real Madrid.
And no one noticed it wasn’t programmed correctly…
– Dale Johnson (@DaleJohnsonESPN) December 13, 2021
United were then pitted against Paris Saint-Germain, leading to great excitement all over the football world as it means Cristiano Ronaldo confront old enemies Lionel Messi in the Champions League again.
GOALS EYES IN THE LEAGUE CHAMPIONS AGAIN! 🐐🍿 pic.twitter.com/wYgZs9AS7Q
– ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 13, 2021
The draw was then concluded as planned, and for a brief moment, Here are the matches in the round of 16 of the Champions League 2021-22.
The draw for the round of 16 Champions League teams is set up pic.twitter.com/BUykuLrMcd
– ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 13, 2021
However, when it was discovered that a mistake had been made, complaints were sent to UEFA and finally the regulator decided to drop the first iteration of the draw, declare it null and void, and press continue with a fresh start.
Following a technical issue with an external service provider’s software instructing officials on how teams qualify to play against each other, a fatal error occurred during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 draw. .
– UEFA (@UEFA) December 13, 2021
After witnessing United’s box office clash with PSG and the prospect of Ronaldo-Messi being wiped off the charts, many football fans have left to mourn what may have been. Something tells us the age-old debate is likely to erupt regardless.
Can’t believe they will remake the draw. As soon as we *finally* find out who’s better than Messi and Ronaldo.
– Tom Williams (@tomwfootball) December 13, 2021
Many people also draw parallels with administrative controversy engulfed the culmination of the 2021 Formula 1 championship over the weekend. Max Verstappen was finally crowned world champion against Lewis Hamilton in the final race of the season, but only after the FIA intervened with a questionable call that essentially turned the final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix into a one-round race for office.
The Champions League will be redrawn. Not a great couple of days for the sports authorities.
– Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) December 13, 2021
The timing of all this is hilarious after all the fuss about F1 yesterday. A real moment holding my beer from UEFA
– Si Lloyd (@ SmnLlyd5) December 13, 2021
Could be worse: if this were Formula One we would have to play the group stages again https://t.co/7z6hoInL6Z
– Sam Wallace (@SamWallaceTel) December 13, 2021
.@ F1 & @UEFA about who could be the biggest controversy this week pic.twitter.com/2Q48s0cxZb
– LFC Transfer Room (@LFCTransferRoom) December 13, 2021
UEFA can’t even deal with 24 hours of watching F1 take the limelight so they have to create their own bipartisan chaos 😅 How can you make a draw wrong?!
– Ronan Mullen (@RonanReigns) December 13, 2021
As you might expect, the flawed Champions League draw was followed by a wave of disappointment from many upset viewers.
Not saying UEFA has difficulty with today’s draws, but Arsenal have just been paired with Flamengo in the Europa League.
– Ian Doyle (@IanDoyleSport) December 13, 2021
Some have suspected and predicted that, given the monumental scale of one of the relationships created by the first draw, it may just be in UEFA’s interest. guarantee a similar result on the second attempt.
#MUFC to draw PSG again, just to clarify, at 2pm
– Peter Hall (@PeteHall86) December 13, 2021
Meanwhile, Spartak Moscow implemented the unusual tactics of asked UEFA for their ball to be excluded from the Europa League draw afraid that they find themselves forced to face Erling Haaland and Borussia Dortmund.
🤔 @UEFA, could you please put our ball aside when you will draw Borussia Dortmund in Round 16?
– FC Spartak Moscow (@fcsm_eng) December 13, 2021
And Spanish second-tier club Leganes took it a step further by try to sneak into the European competition with a quick bit of Photoshopping.
Amigos de @UEFA, ahora no os olvidéis de meter esta#UCLdraw #PorIntentarloQueNoQuede pic.twitter.com/3RPpDKHYQZ
– CD Leganes (@CDLeganes) December 13, 2021
Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos simply decided to act as if the whole thing hadn’t happened, wittily asked fans about their draw prediction. It’s great to see that Kroos can serve the deadly golden ball as expertly as he does when he passes perfect passes down to the inch.
Any predictions for the outcome?
– Toni Kroos (@ToniKroos) December 13, 2021
The final redraw happened three hours after the original when the Europa League and Europa Conference League were held, with the following competition has its own software glitch.
UEFA had more technical problems with the Europa Conference League play-off draw. “It’s a technical problem with the software,” said Marchetti. At least they’re consistent
– Simon Bajkowski (@spbajko) December 13, 2021
Defending European Champion Chelsea was made to wait and see who their new opponent in defending their title would be – just because it was like the team they faced for the first time.
️#UCLDraw pic.twitter.com/CSd7SseWgv
– Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 13, 2021
For profiles, this is the FINAL draw AND DEFINITION for the Champions League round of 16:
FC Salzburg compare to Bayern Munich
Sports CP compared to Manchester City
Benfica compare to Ajax Amsterdam
Chelsea vs. Lille
Atletico Madrid vs. Manchester United
Villarreal vs. Juventus
Internazionale compared to Liverpool
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Real Madrid
