The UEFA Champions League group stage draw happened on Thursday, on the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco and high European sides discovered their destiny. Defending champions Manchester City have been put in Group G, alongwith RB Leipzig, Crvena Zvezda and Young Boys. Meanwhile, final season’s runners-up Inter Milan have been slotted in at Group D with Benfica, RB Salzburg and Real Sociedad.
Over the years, UEFA has been accused of rigging the Champions League and Europa League attracts, with followers taking to social media with probably the most strangest controversies. One such declare which has resurfaced on the web was made by referee-turned pundit Ahmet Cakar, who accused UEFA of rigging the Champions League draw through the use of an alleged vibration method.
Cakar defined his concept on dwell Turkish tv and said that the 2013 Champions League last-16 draw was rigged. He stated that draw-makers Steve McManaman and Patrick Kluivert had metallic objects of their palms which decide up vibrations within the balls as they bounce round within the pot. Cakar additionally accused then-UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino, who’s present FIFA president, of suspicious hand actions through the draw. “UEFA manipulated the draw for both the Champions League and Europa League,” Cakar stated.
Earlier, even former FIFA president Sepp Blatter revealed in an interview that he had witnessed the fixing of an European competitors. “Of course it’s possible that they can be signalled, by heating or cooling them. It doesn’t happen in Fifa, but I’ve witnessed draws at European level where it has happened, but never in Fifa. Of course it can be done, but it never happened under my watch, never. Balls are put in the freezer before the draw, at the slightest touch you can tell if the balls are hot or cold. By touching them you know exactly what you have,” he stated.
Meanwhile, within the ceremony in Monaco, Erling Haaland and Manchester City supervisor Pep Guardiola received the very best UEFA males’s and coach of the yr award. Meanwhile, Aitana Bonmati and Sarina Weigman had been the ladies’s winners. “I won the treble at the age of 22. I’m kind of living the dream. This season is about keeping my head clear. Even more eyes will be on me and my team after winning the Champions League. We have to be sharper and more prepared,” stated Haaland.
Meanwhile, Weigman devoted her award to Spain. She stated, “(Receiving this award) feels a little different. We all know the issues around the Spanish team and it really hurts me as a coach, as a mother of two daughters, as a wife and as a human being. The game has grown so much but there’s also still a long way to go in women’s football and society. I would like to dedicate this award to the Spanish team – the tam that played in a World Cup such great football that everyone enjoys. This team deserves to be celebrated and listened to.”
Source web site: www.hindustantimes.com
