Mueez Ajao
– Real Madrid are furious with UEFA over their “shameful” handling of the Champions League round-of-16 draw, sources told ESPN, with the club accusing European football’s governing body of “lying” over the problems that led to the process being repeated.
– Madrid were initially paired with Benfica on Monday before the first draw was declared void after errors were spotted in the ways potential opponents were selected for fellow LaLiga sides Villarreal and Atletico Madrid.
– UEFA blamed the issue on “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.”
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– Sources have told that Madrid, whose tie with Benfica was drawn before those mistakes took place, were insistent that their pairing should stand.
– However UEFA opted for a full round-of-16 redraw hours later, when Madrid were paired with Paris Saint-Germain.
– “It is a lie that it was a software error,” a club source told. “It is human error, beginning with the second pairing. Our pairing Real Madrid-Benfica was legal.”
– Real Madrid’s Director of Institutional Relations Emilio Butragueno described the situation as “surprising, regrettable and very hard to understand, when you take into account the millions of fans who were following the draw.”
– “Having said that, we go into this tie with a lot of excitement. We’re aware of what this competition means for the club and the fans,” he told Real Madrid TV. “We’re also aware of the difficulties, with the quality of players [PSG] have. We believe the team will play two great games. They’ll be fantastic for football.”
– The relationship between Madrid and UEFA had already been severely damaged this year in the fallout from the club’s involvement in the proposed Super League.
