It’s the worst nightmare of any sporting administrator, that a draw for a competition would have to be scrapped because one team was put in twice or left out of a bowl.

It happens we are sure within the Junior championships of tournaments on occasion but rarely because as they say, the idea of “you had one job” means that everything is well thought out and prepared for.

Imagine then that it happened in the knockout phase of the most valuable, most watched and most visible football tournament in the world.

Well, that’s precisely what happened today with the Round of 16 draw for the UEFA Champions League having to be declared null and void after a mix up involving Man United, Liverpool and Atletico Madrid.

It can be a complicated map to get through tournaments where one team cannot play another because they have met at an earlier stage but that’s why it is all mapped out in advance. Normally.

So the headlines of Man United and Ronaldo facing PSG and Messi had to be scrubbed and the draw held all over again.

The Paris side will instead face Real Madrid who had previously been drawn against Benfica. Man United swap them for Atletico Madrid while Liverpool will now take on Inter Milan instead of Red Bull Salzburg. Man City swap Sporting Lisbon for Villareal while Chelsea and Lille came out of the draw against each other as they had in the first draw.

It did provide a little bit of fun for smart thinking social media teams…

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At least F1 administration teams will be relieved to be knocked out of the spotlight.

And if you ever get a chance to look at the Wicklow Minor B Football Championship draw featuring Eddie and his dog Miley, it’s a worthwhile internet rabbit hole to go down.

 

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