Amidst criticism that UEFA use hot and cold balls to determine which teams should be drawn in major games, Giorgio Marchetti, the director of competitions at the organisation, called it 'a joke'.
The Italian was talking at the FPF Football Talks forum in Estoril, Portugal, and, with the draw for the quarter-final of both the Champions League and Europa League having happened on 17 March, there was a lot of debate surrounding the cleanliness of the selection process.
"How can the balls be hot or cold?" Marchetti asked rhetorically in response to a question.
"It's impossible. With the category of player that we invite to the draw, I would never ask someone to do something that was not honest when picking the balls. It's a joke."
After talking about the model of European competition until 2021, Marchetti went on to dismiss the notion that the Champions League is becoming more elitist by allowing the four major European leagues to have four teams each, coming at the expense of some smaller nations.
"We are keeping the same format with 32 teams, with at least 17 federations represented," he continued.
"Therefore, talk of a more exclusive Champions League does not correspond with the truth."
In this regard, Marchetti also added that UEFA are not creating a European Super League for the elite, considering it necessary to keep the competition open.
