UEFA embarrassed as Champions League draw is interrupted by technical problems for Real Madrid and Atletico… but we can hear former Bayern Munich ace Thomas Helmer perfectly as he labels Europa League the cup of LOSERS!
- The draw for the latter stages of the Champions League was made on Friday
- But the ceremony was overshadowed by technical issues on a host of video calls
- In trying to speak to Atletico midfielder Koke, the presenter got no sound back
- The same happened when ex-Real Madrid man Emilio Butragueño was spoken to
- Fans were quick to voice their annoyance at the ongoing sound issues online
Despite the Champions League being away for four months, fans were quick to bemoan the technical problems that overshadowed its return with the draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
On Friday morning, UEFA’s Pedro Pinto was in charge of navigating the ceremony, with was run with social distancing measures.
That meant club delegates, who are usually in the room at UEFA’s Nyon HQ, were following on a video stream and yet, despite a wealth of resources, the video interviews were hamstrung by sound problems – particularly in Madrid.
Social distancing rules meant club delegates had to follow the Champions League draw remotely but it caused multiple issues with sound problems affecting a host of interviews
Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke (left) was seen speaking but viewers got no sound from him
The presenter moved on to ex-Real Madrid striker Emilio Butragueño and got a similar issue
The draws are typically drawn out with montages of goals scored so far, conversations with former players and former winners, a run-through of the technicalities behind the draw to name three things.
But as Pinto continued building up to the main event, he found himself battling against sound problems that made a number of interviews unwatchable.
In trying to speak to Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke, Pinto addressed him in Spanish but got no sound in return, despite the stream showing Koke talking into his microphone in the Spanish capital.
The decision was made not to let that run for too long and so Pinto switched across the city to speak to former Real Madrid striker Emilio Butragueño.
Again, the video worked fine but the sound was once again nowhere to be found apart from the occasional jolt of noise.
Back-to-back interviews had to be axed and apologies were made for the ‘technical difficulties’ that dominated the pre-draw ceremony.
With so many eyes tuned into the draw, desperate to see how the route to the final would look, the technical problems did not go unnoticed.
One irate user wrote on Twitter: ‘The Champions League draw has been and absolute farce.
‘They’re dragging it out massively and none of the audio is working.
‘Just get on with the draw.’
Another added: ‘@ChampionsLeague this has been every online meeting ever.
‘Audio issues, Loss, Feedback, Loss of connection. If #UEFA can face these issues, what are we in comparison to them?’
There were promising signs when Juventus veteran Giorgio Chiellini, the first interviewee for Pinto, spoke clearly and concisely in English, with no audio errors between UEFA’s HQ in Nyon and Chiellini in Turin.
The same was said of Manchester City director of football Txiki Begiristain as he spoke from the club’s Etihad Campus before the draws were made.
More to follow.
