UEFA<\/strong> is not immune to conspiracy theories being floated about its draw procedures, and the use of more technology could lead to more attempts to cast doubt on social media.<\/p>\n\u201cPeople can trust us,\u201d UEFA deputy general secretary Giorgio Marchetti said when asked about fending off conspiracies.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany people didn\u2019t trust us in the past \u2013 they thought the ball was hot or cold or god only knows which systems to manipulate the balls.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pointed to another wild claim that UEFA\u2019s use of football legends for the draw was because \u201cwe told them which balls to pick\u201d.<\/p>\n
But UEFA has full confidence in AE Live, the English company which developed the automated draw software.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe response of the system will happen in a few seconds so there is no possibility for anyone to intervene,\u201d Mr Marchetti said. \u201cUEFA has never been made part of the code developed by AE Live.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only parties who know the code are AE Live and (auditors) Ernst & Young.\u201d<\/p>\n
AE Live chief technology officer David Gill also offered assurances about safety: \u201cWe have taken all steps we possibly can to make it as safe and secure as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of risk assessments and we put additional precautions in place.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is a wariness following past sports events warning about Russian hacking attempts<\/strong>, which Moscow has denied.<\/p>\n\u201cWe know the risks and dangers are in today\u2019s world,\u201d Mr Marchetti said, speaking generally. \u201cThey take it incredibly seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new league phase finishes in January \u2013 a month later than the previous group stage \u2013 and will see the 36 competing teams ranked by points in an overall league table.<\/p>\n
The top eight teams will automatically qualify for a round of 16, which will be completed by the teams finishing ninth to 24 contesting a two-legged play-off round.<\/p>\n
Reaching the final could now require 15 or 17 matches for clubs from the league phase rather than 13 previously, on top of the main business of domestic leagues and cups to fit into the season.<\/p>\n
The new league phase format will also be used for both the Europa League and Europa Conference League.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This post appeared first on sky.com<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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