The conspiracy theorists are having a field day.
AS Roma caused a bit of a stir on Friday morning after their website appeared to briefly list match tickets for an upcoming Champions League semi-final, against Liverpool.
As it turned out, Liverpool were picked out of the bowl to face the Italian side in the draw that took place on Friday afternoon.
The question on everybody’s lips was whether the Roma website knew something that the rest of us didn’t, prior to the draw.
The Champions League has had a long flirtation with controversy, with many football fans believing the draws are constantly fixed to favour certain match-ups and teams, with Real Madrid usually cited. The recurring theory is that the balls containing the team names are heated during the drawing process.
Of course, there is absolutely no evidence for this. But there is this screenshot from the Roma website.
The image is said to be from Roma’s official website’s ticket page, and as you can see, it clearly shows an upcoming home game against Genoa.
Just kidding – a Liverpool semi-final is what we’re looking at here.
The image was first reported by Rome’s daily newspaper Il Tempo. The top paragraph reads:
USER CHANGE
Dear Fans, as foreseen by the D.M. Interior of 6 June 2005 it is necessary by A.S. Rome to verify the identity of users of access rights (season tickets / tickets): those who access the stadium using irregular (presumably the wrong) identities are subject to the penalties provided for by the Law.
On this page it is possible to change the user to a person other than the one indicated on the stadium entrance ticket: the operation has immediate effect if it is successfully completed.
Why it is referencing an Italian law from 2005 that means you must confirm your identity before buying match tickets, we’re unsure.
This was how Twitter reacted to the draw…
Coincidence? I think not!
Roma put semi-final tickets against Liverpool on sale before the draw!#Conspiracy pic.twitter.com/zMriKOSA3A— Turkish Football (@Turkish_Futbol1) April 13, 2018
https://twitter.com/JayHornby1/status/984604021066518533
So Champions League Semi Final draw. Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich, Liverpool vs Roma. Let's see if UEFA have fixed it again then #warmballcoldball
— Damon Shipley (@joeshippers78) April 12, 2018
so ChampionsLeague draw is already fixed.
Roma vs Liverpool
Real madrid vs Bayern @realmadrid @FCBayern @OfficialASRoma @LFC @ChampionsLeague— Naafiu Latheef (@NaafiuLathyf) April 13, 2018
