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Football London
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Bobby Vincent

What UEFA chief Giorgio Marchetti said in Champions League draw in Manchester United controversy

The UEFA Champions League round of 16 draw has caused plenty of confusion among supporters.

The draw, that was being conducted by Giorgio Marchetti, Pedro Pinto and Andrey Arshavin in Switzerland on Monday morning, was meant to be a fairly straightforward and smooth-running process, but it proved to be confusing.

After Benfica vs Real Madrid was drawn as the first confirmed round of 16 tie, Villarreal were next out of the pot. The Spanish club, who won the Europa League last season, came second in Group F - one point below Manchester United.

So, when Arshavin pulled Man United out of the pot to face Villarreal, there was plenty of confusion.

Marchetti, who was on Arshavin's right, intervened and said that is not possible, so the former Arsenal star put the United ball aside.

Then Villarreal drew Manchester City instead, which was fine, but it looked as if the United ball never went back into the pot for the next drawn fixture, which would have been against Atletico Madrid, who eventually drew Bayern Munich.

This is what Marchetti had to say when Atletico were pulled from the pot: "We are ready for the third pairing, which will start with Club Atletico de Madrid. For Atletico de Madrid, we have the possibilities for all, except Liverpool, who were in the same group, and Manchester United. Manchester United has already been drawn."

It remains to be seen what will be done in regards to this, but there is plenty of talk on social media about the validity of the draw.

Here is the draw in its entirety:

Benfica (POR) vs Real Madrid (SPA)

Villarreal (SPA) vs Manchester City (ENG)

Atletico Madrid (SPA) vs Bayern Munich (GER)

RB Salzburg (AUS) vs Liverpool (ENG)

Inter Milan (ITA) vs Ajax (NET)

Sporting Lisbon (POR) vs Juventus (ITA)

Chelsea (ENG) vs Lille (FRA)

Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) vs Manchester United (ENG)

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