At the Champions League quarter-final draw ceremony, UEFA made a rare mistake, and the draw guest Arshavin accidentally drew Manchester United, which should not have appeared. Although UEFA finally confirmed that the draw was valid, it sparked a strong resentment among United fans.
According to UEFA rules, teams in the same group in the group stage will not meet in the quarter-finals. This means that Villarreal will certainly not draw Manchester United, and the two teams have already met in the group stage.
However, when Arshavin showed the note in his hand, it was Manchester United who showed it. Aware of the mistake, UEFA quickly corrected it, and Arshavin then pulled out Manchester City. However, the small ball of The United note was not put back into the draw pool.
The Manchester Evening News revealed that if United's small ball is put back into the draw pool, then Manchester United may play against Atletico Madrid, not Paris.
UEFA secretary-general Marchetti, who was in charge of the draw ceremony, said: "For Atletico, all possibilities are there except For Liverpool and Manchester United, but Manchester United have already been drawn. ”
UEFA later issued a statement saying that "due to technical problems with the software provided by external service providers, there was a major error in the drawing ceremony." The software reminds officials which teams are eligible to play against each other. ”
The London Football website revealed that UEFA will investigate the lottery ceremony, and in an interview with the website, some officials said they were waiting for the possibility of re-drawing.
After such an outrageous mistake, fans expressed their dissatisfaction, and some fans said, "It seems that the Champions League draw has also reached the VAR review part." Another fan said, "Now, United are looking forward to the British referee and VAR to review UEFA's quarter-final draw. ”