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The UEFA Champions League round of 16 draw concluded earlier with Bayern Munich pitted against Atletico Madrid, Manchester United set to face Paris Saint-Germain in what will definitely be a clash of wannabe titans, and the other ties being pretty straightforward with respect to who the favourites and the underdogs would be. Another typical UCL Ro16 draw result.
However, what might’ve been overlooked in the process is a serious of major gaffes (or as they like to put it, “technical errors”) that could’ve had an impact on the draw outcomes. A short summary from our very own RLD from BFW was posted in the comments section of the draw article, and is as follows:
1) They added Manchester United to Villarreal’s draw pot, even though they could not be paired due to being in the same group.
2) They added Liverpool to Atletico Madrid’s draw pot, even though they could not be paired due to being in the same group.
3) They failed to add Manchester United to Atletico Madrid’s draw pot, even though that was still a valid draw pairing.
Various news organizations are waiting on official word on what if anything UEFA are going to do to correct this.
A recent update states that UEFA has decided to stage a re-draw and declare the previous draw null and void. This comes right after several teams, including Atletico Madrid and Manchester United issuing complaints and raising questions on the integrity of the draw.
Several sources and accounts have relayed the same information:
JUST IN: UEFA is close to agreeing to repeat the draw. Very viable option at this point due to the botch seen before and thanks to the complaints of several teams. We will see if it is confirmed #mufc #mujournal
— United Journal (@theutdjournal) December 13, 2021
[@RodrigoFaez]
BREAKING: The draw has been declared void and will be entirely redone at 15:00 CET
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) December 13, 2021
Wow. What a shambles. Now, we’ll have a re-do of the entire draw. I’m sure the officials at UEFA would call a crisis committee to put their plan B into action, i.e. another rigged contingency draw in events when the first rigged draw fails. I’m just kidding. Or am I?
In any case, let us hope they get the draws right this time. I also hope that we don’t draw Chelsea or PSG this early as a result. Atletico would’ve been an annoying and draining draw for sure, but nothing that Bayern couldn’t bundle up and dispatch.
UEFA, if you’re reading this, DO NOT give us PSG again. It’s getting really boring.
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