UEFA’s Champions League semi final draw has been thrown into disarray, after fans claimed that the whole thing was fixed to ensure Liverpool drew AS Roma.
The Premier League side and Italian outfit were pitted against one another in the last four of the competition in Friday’s draw, with current holders Real Madrid set to face Bayern Munich in the other tie.
However, a screenshot of a leaked email made its way on to social media (h/t Daily Mail) in the immediate aftermath of the draw, and appears to show a link that allows I Giallorossi fans to buy tickets for the home clash with Jurgen Klopp’s men.
What makes this such a big deal is that fans claim the email was sent out to customers on Thursday – 24 hours before the official draw took place.
Roma were drawn out of the hat second and will, therefore, host Liverpool at Stadio Olimpico on 2nd May – the same date that appears on said email.
That has led to a serious outcry among football fans that UEFA fixed their own draw to give Liverpool a slightly easier game against Roma, and ensure that the Reds could make it to the final next month against either Bayern or Real:
Representatives have since come out and said the email was sent by mistake due to a technical issue with Roma’s ticketing partner, but supporters are still donning their tinfoil hats and alleging that UEFA have seized the opportunity to make the draw the way that they wanted.
Others, however, believe that the ‘leaked’ email is a photoshop job due to another date – 6th June 2005 – popping up in the opening line of the communication:
(You may also be interested in Jurgen Klopp Claims UCL Draw Against Roma Could Signal Liverpool’s ‘Destiny’ to Win 6th European Cup)
This isn’t the first time that European football’s governing body has come under fire for allegedly fixing the draw.
Spanish newspaper AS alleged last year that heated balls were used to keep Los Blancos, Atletico and Barcelona apart in the quarter finals, while the 2016 edition saw Brazil legend Roberto Carlos pick out a ball before putting it back in the pot after staring at it for a few seconds.
Either way, the draw won’t be changed so the debate will rage on and on until a winner is crowned next month.
Be the first to comment