UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin admits ‘failure’ over botched Champions League draw

UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin has admitted the organisation failed with the Champions League Round of 16 draw.

The draw dominated attention last week when it had to be redone due to an error in the original sorting.

The redraw worked out better for Atletico Madrid and Villarreal, who were given friendlier opposition with Manchester United and Juventus respectively.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid were left furious after seeing original opponents Benfica swapped for PSG, one of the best runners-up in the draw.

UEFA blamed the error in the initial draw on a technology error from an external provider, and while they stand by that, they have taken responsibility and vowed to learn from the error.

The organisations chief Ceferin said in a statement: “Something was wrong with the software.

“UEFA contacted the provider of the software and it was decided that we had to repeat the draw in full because we didn’t know exactly when the error produced.

“Our decision was transparent. It’s too early to talk about consequences. We have learned.

“Obviously, it’s a failure for UEFA. We depend on technology and maybe we should depend less.

“The error is a shame. These failures happen. They are not human errors, but technology failures.”

In the second draw, UEFA used the technology again before verifying it via non-technological means, and it seems that is the route they will take in future, going from Ceferin’s comments.

Tags Aleksander Ceferin Atletico Madrid Real Madrid Villarreal
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