After an eventful series of results in the 21/22 UCL Group Stage matches which saw the likes of FC Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan and Sevilla all crashing out of the UEFA Champions League after failing to clear the group stages and a few surprise progressions to the RO16 in the form of SL Benfica, Sporting CP, Villareal, Lille and RB Salzburg, the UCL Draw for the Round of 16 matches, set to take place in Nyon, on 13 December, looked on to deliver appetizing clashes.
Having already cleared the group stages of the UEFA Champions League, representatives of the 16 teams including the likes of PSG, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Manchester City, defending champions Chelsea, Juventus, etc, all attended the UCL draw as they looked on to witness their possible opponents in the next stage of this prestigious competition.
As the draw began, there were certain rules put into practice to practice fair play, such as No two clubs from the same national association could be drawn against each other and clubs wouldn’t be allowed to face opponents they met during the group stage either.
Moreover, a change in one of the most controversial rules of the knockout stage from this season onwards took place in the form of the omission of the away goals rule, which now meant that all ties level after 180 minutes would go to extra time and if required, penalties, regardless of the number of goals scored by the teams at home or away.
The UEFA Champions League Round of 16 kicks off next year with the matches set to take place on 15 February in the first leg and 8 March in the second leg.
The Champions League Round of 16 draw is set 🏆 pic.twitter.com/BUykuLrMcd
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 13, 2021
However, the UEFA authorities seemed to face massive outrage from the fans as they deemed the draw to be rigged after it was seen that Manchester United’s name was put into the wrong pot which ultimately led to a face-off between Messi vs Ronaldo in the form of the clash between PSG and Manchester United, which was said to be an attempt to gather extra profits and viewership using the already established popularity of the two footballing clubs and players.
Clubs involved in Champions League draw mistake are in direct contact with Uefa to clarify the situation. Still waiting for final decision. 🔴 #UCL
This is what happened, via @mjcritchley ⤵️pic.twitter.com/zlFxP7C8OO
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 13, 2021
Following this outrage, the UEFA identified its mistake via a series of tweets and have decided to completely redo the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 draw again at 15:00 CET, and thereby declaring the current draw to be null and void.
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 Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) December 13, 2021
As a result of this, the draw has been declared void and will be entirely redone at 15:00 CET.
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) December 13, 2021
Following the controversy, the redraw of the 21/22 UEFA Champions League RO16 Draw hasn’t failed to deliver either, as it has provided the chance to witness ties where Inter Milan face Liverpool, Atletico Madrid face a Manchester United side with Cristiano, with whom they’ve had foul memories in the UCL with and Real Madrid vs PSG where former Barcelona and Real Madrid captains, Messi and Sergio Ramos come back together in the same team to haunt Los Blancos.
The 𝑼𝑷𝑫𝑨𝑻𝑬𝑫 Champions League Round of 16 draw 🏆 pic.twitter.com/s1LLhEOZdz
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 13, 2021
