Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

MESSI

Champions League draw kind to Spanish sides

Spain's four Champions League participants (Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid and Real Sociedad) have all been relatively lucky with their group stages' draw.

Published: 30 August 2013 10:36 CEST

Champions League draw kind to Spanish sides

The Champions League draw event also saw Bayern Munich and France star Franck Ribery collect the UEFA best player award over Barça's Lionel Messi. Photo:

Nine-times champions Real Madrid will meet Italian Serie A winners Juventus in two highly anticipated clashes in a group which also features Galatasaray and FC Copenhagen.

Barça will play against AC Milan for the third year running, after beating the seven-time European title holders in an amazing comeback in last year's last-sixteen stages.

The Catalan giants are also matched against Holland’s Ajax and Scottish side Celtic.

Atlético de Madrid will face Oporto, the team that knocked them out of their last Champions League four years ago.

The Spanish Copa del Rey winners are also up against Zenit St Petersburg and Austria Vienna.

Real Sociedad, who haven't played in the Champions League for over a decade, will be facing none other than English Premiership champions Manchester United in their group.

The San Sebastian side are also placed in the same group as Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk and Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen.

The draw, which was held in Monaco on Thursday night, also saw Bayern Munich and France star Franck Ribery collect the UEFA best player award over Barça's Lionel Messi.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

Why has the expansion of Barcelona airport prompted mass protests?

People march during a demonstration against the expansion of the Barcelona-El Prat airport. Photo: Pau BARRENA / AFP

Several ecological and agricultural organisations, have demanded that the expansion be stopped due to the fact nearby wetlands and farms would have to be destroyed.

The demonstration took place on Calle Tarragona in the Catalan capital between Plaça d’Espanya and Plaça dels Països Catalans.

The protests still took place, even though last week, Spain suspended the €1.7 billion airport expansion project, citing differences with the Catalan government, after president Pere Aragonès said he wanted to avoid destroying La Ricarda lagoon, a natural reserve next to the airport.

Environmentalists decided not to call off the march, in case plans for the airport expansion still went ahead.

READ ALSO: Six things you need to know about Barcelona airport’s €1.7 billion planned expansion

Political representatives from ERC, En Comú Podem and the CUP also attended, as well as the leader of Más País, Íñigo Errejón; the Deputy Mayor for Ecology of the Barcelona City Council, Janet Sanz, and the Mayor of El Prat de Llobregat, Lluís Mijoler.

People from neighbourhoods across the city marched towards Calle Tarragona and could be seen holding placards that read “Nature yes, airport no and shouting slogans such as “More courgettes and fewer planes” and “Fighting for the climate, health, and life”.

One of the largest groups of people were those from El Prat de Llobregat, the municipality which is home to the airport, who were led by tractors.

People march during a demonstration against the expansion of Barcelona-El Prat airport. Photo by Pau BARRENA / AFP

In addition to protesting against the expansion of the El Prat airport, people were also demonstrating against the Winter Olympic Games in the Pyrenees and extensions to airports in Mallorca and Madrid.

A representative of Zeroport, Sara Mingorría said “We are here to defend not only La Ricarda, but the entire Delta”.

The philosopher Marina Garcés also argued that the expansion of the airport would mean “more borders, more mass tourism, more control and more precarious jobs.”

The leader of the commons in the Catalan parliament, Jéssica Albiach, who also attended the protest, asked the PSOE for “coherence”: “You cannot be passing a law against climate change and, at the same time, defend the interests of Aena [the airport operations company]”, she said.

She also urged the leader of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, to “definitely say no”.

If the airport expansion in Barcelona goes ahead, environmentalists say that CO2 emissions would rise by a minimum of 33 percent. These levels would surpass the limits set by the Catalan government’s climate targets.

Url copied to clipboard!