After Monday's Champions League screw-up, has anything embodied the absurdity of modern football better than a UEFA draw? Then again, the serious suits fail to see the funny side! By Daniel Matthews For The Daily Mail Published: 22:34 GMT, 13 December 2021 | Updated: 23:57 GMT, 13 December 2021 6 shares 2 Viewcomments Be sure to remember this tummy tickler in case the red wine takes hold before crackers are pulled over Christmas dinner. Joke: how many painfully earnest men dressed in dark suits does it take to unscrew 16 balls without a balls-up? Answer: Manchester United. No, Manchester City. No, Pedro Pinto. Monday's Champions League draw descended into a farce and had to be re-done later on The Champions League draw descended into chaos after Man United were drawn twice Right. What's gone on here? Ah yes, must be a technical problem with the software. Let's try that again. Over recent years, has anything embodied the absurdity of modern football better than a UEFA draw? An utterly bland bit of bureaucracy treated with the seriousness and sincerity of a Cold War summit. Yes, that made Monday's confusion all the more funny. But over in Nyon (the 'home of European football') it was unlikely to convince UEFA to chill out, wasn't it? Instead, brows were furiously furrowed come take two and a rudimentary error required the kind of cover-up usually reserved for festive gatherings in No 10 (allegedly). Giorgio Marchetti intervened to say that Man United could not be drawn against Villarreal BT Sport's stream of the initial draw appeared to have disappeared by the time UEFA hype man Giorgio Marchetti returned to his podium, where he blamed those external service providers, and then uttered those dreaded nine words: 'This may mean that the draw takes slightly longer.' Just hold your hands up, swirl the balls and pick one out, mate. How hard can it be? Andrey Arshavin, the unfortunate ex-pro plucked from the comfort of retirement to read some names, has long worn a fixed expression of slight confusion. Remember his reaction to scoring four at Anfield? On Monday, though, he resembled a kid on work experience. Still, it could have been worse. UEFA could have picked Michael Owen, who struggled to keep a straight face ahead of the re-draw. Ex-Arsenal forward Andrey Arshavin has long worn a fixed expression of slight confusion 'It's going to be fun,' he smiled during BT's coverage. 'There's going to be so many sob stories to come.' See? Even a self-confessed cinephobe, who once claimed to have watched just eight films, can spot a comedic storyline from afar. So would Marchetti and Co see the funny side? Sorry, UEFA explained, Villarreal had already played Sporting Banter in the group stages. Michael Owen struggled to keep a straight face ahead of the re-draw on Monday afternoon Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility