Uefa have mocked Manchester United’s call for the introduction of seeding to the knockout rounds of the Champions League.
Manchester United chief executive David Gill and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger have been leading the call to change the format of the competition.
United chief executive Gill suggested that Uefa should introduce a tennis-style system whereby the top ranked team would play the lowest ranked team in the last 16 and so on.
But Uefa have laughed off the idea.
“Uefa are always willing to listen to what clubs have to say but David Gill’s plans would turn the competition into a bit of a joke,” said Uefa’s director of communications William Gaillard.
“The idea of seeding clubs beyond the group stages goes beyond all principles of a sporting event.
“Are United saying that they want to turn the Champions League into a static competition where the same clubs reach the latter stages every season?
“If that’s the case, supporters and TV companies would lose interest straightaway because the competition would become boring.
“The reason why the Champions League is so lucrative to clubs is because the competition is so exciting and full of surprises.
“Introducing seeding that would keep clubs apart would make it boring and result in totally meaningless fixtures during the group stages.
“If Manchester United had won their group then they would not have been drawn against AC Milan in the knockout stage. Maybe they should consider that.”
