Champions League draw host issues apology as broadcast turns awkward | Football | Sport
Friday’s Champions League last-16 draw took an awkward turn as host Pedro Pinto wished colleague Giorgio Marchetti a happy birthday. The UEFA presenter apologised for “embarrassing” his counterpart with the well-wishes.
The draw was just wrapping up when Pinto attempted to wish Marchetti a special day. Except he got his numbers mixed up, which made for an awkward few seconds on stage. “That’ll do it for us at the house of football, fantastic to have Ivan [Rakitic] here,” said Pinto to his guests. “Well done as always, Giorgio. It’s a special day because it’s the last day of the UEFA Champions League season, also because it’s Giorgio’s birthday. So, I’m sorry to embarrass you, but I think he deserves a round of applause. I think it’s 49, right Giorgio?” However, Marchetti quickly responded “less” as he tried to laugh off the awkwardness.
Former Barcelona and Croatia midfielder Rakitic was an unwilling bystander as the interaction drew to a conclusion. And he was likely as happy as anyone to see the back-and-forth draw to a close.
Having been made aware of his error, Pinto appeared as eager as anyone to move on. Meanwhile, Marchetti was left with the unfortunate birthday present of being informed he looked older than his actual age on live television.
Ensure our latest sport headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings
Aside from that breakdown in communication, Friday’s draw came off without a hitch. And it threw up some extremely appetising home-and-away fixtures for what promises to be an iconic round of 16.
Arguably the biggest storyline of the draw is a reunion between last year’s FIFA Club World Cup final opponents, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain. They’ll face off once again as reigning kings of Europe, PSG, seek revenge for the 3-0 defeat they suffered against the Blues in the United States last summer.
The tournament will also bid farewell to at least one superpower as Real Madrid go up against Manchester City. Pep Guardiola will take on his former nemeses in the hopes of masterminding another run at greatness, with the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr set to have something to say about that.
Liverpool’s campaign will also undergo a serious examination against Galatasaray, who just knocked Juventus out of the running. This head-to-head also has some historical context, and the Turkish giants have already beaten the Reds once this season during the league phase.
Tournament favourites Arsenal will have to manoeuvre past a talented Bayer Leverkusen to reach the next stage, meanwhile. And Newcastle have been tasked with overcoming the might of Barcelona if they’re to go any further.
