The draw for the last 16 of the Champions League proved to be an eventful and rather chaotic affair, with Manchester United unwittingly finding themselves at the centre of a European storm after initially being paired with Paris Saint-Germain.
That contest, which would have seen Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi rekindle their long-running rivalry, was eventually wiped out after UEFA admitted to a “technical problem” which forced them to carry out the entire procedure again.
Unsurprisingly, interested observers from around the world were quick to ask questions of how European football’s governing body managed to find itself fire-fighting such a predicament.
Just one tie had been pulled out of the hat when the last-16 draw descended into farce.
Real Madrid had been paired with Benfica, before Villarreal became the third ball to be extracted from a pot of group-stage runners-up.
Ex-Arsenal star Andrey Arshavin then proceeded to unfurl the name of Manchester United, but the Red Devils had already faced supposed La Liga opposition in this season’s competition.
That error was quickly spotted, leading to Manchester City being lined up against Villarreal, but United were not added back in for the next tie to be drawn against Atletico Madrid – as Bayern Munich were handed a heavyweight encounter with Spanish foes.
The draw was eventually completed, with Messi and PSG left until last alongside Ronaldo and United, but concerns were already being raised behind the scenes, with Atletico among those to lodge an official complaint.
UEFA then announced that the initial fixture list was null and void, with a second draw added to the schedule – much to the annoyance of La Liga giants Real Madrid who were happy with their lot and had managed to steer clear of any scandal.
Following a technical problem with the software of an external service provider that instructs the officials 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.— UEFA (@UEFA) December 13, 2021
While condemnation of UEFA’s errors quietened quickly once an error of its ways had been acknowledged, the entire episode left many dazed and confused.
What a balls-up. And the "software" excuse ranks in "the dog ate my homework" category. #UCLdraw https://t.co/8ImoVHe39U— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) December 13, 2021
Statement from UEFA: Max Verstappen has been declared the winner of this season’s Champions League.— Dan Walker (@mrdanwalker) December 13, 2021
The Champions League will be a redraw. Not a great couple days for sporting authorities.— Gary Lineker 💙 (@GaryLineker) December 13, 2021
This #UCLdraw 😫Poor Andrey Arshavin. pic.twitter.com/KwJmPuRZ6W— GOAL (@goal) December 13, 2021
This is unbelievable!!! Will @UEFA redo the whole draw or just pick it up from when the mistake was made? Either way, if a mistake was made it surely has to be done again?— michael owen (@themichaelowen) December 13, 2021
You can’t give some teams the chance of a tie versus Man Utd and some not. That would be the most unfair thing we have seen in sport in ages… #UCLDraw #UCL— Sam Quek (@SamanthaQuek) December 13, 2021
Expect Michael Masi to conduct the #UCL redraw.— Kristof Terreur (@HLNinEngeland) December 13, 2021