Champions League: Uefa redo draw after Manchester United ball error

Manchester United’s ball appeared to be left out from the draw to face Atletico Madrid

Monday 13 December 2021 10:59 EST

Uefa make mistake in Champions League draw

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Uefa had to redo the Champions League round of 16 draw after a “technical problem” involving Manchester United.

United were pulled out of the hat with Paris-Saint Germain, but several clubs complained to Uefa that the integrity of the draw had been damaged by an earlier mistake forcing them into a redraw.

United were initially drawn against Villarreal, a tie that could not take place due to both sides advancing from the same group.

Giorgio Marchetti, Uefa’s deputy general secretary, spotted the mistake and ordered the fixture to be redrawn.

However, a further error then appeared to wrongly block United from being eligible to face Atletico Madrid, who were the next team to be drawn.

“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,” a Uefa statement confirmed.

“As a result of this, the draw has been declared void and will be entirely redone at 1500 CET (2pm GMT).”

In the second, official draw later on Monday United were paired with Atletico Madrid while Manchester City were drawn with Sporting.

Liverpool will face Inter Milan and Chelsea will take on Lille, just as they were scheduled to do after the first draw.