FIFA gaffe caught quickly during 2015 Women’s World Cup draw in Gatineau

GATINEAU, Que. – There was no talk of artificial turf but FIFA did not escape Saturday’s Women’s World Cup draw gaffe-free.

During the draw at the Canadian Museum of History, Colombia was mistakenly placed alongside seed Brazil in Group E.

That’s a no-no since teams from the same confederation are kept apart in the round-robin stage unless it is impossible to do so.

“Colombia plays in Group E with Brazil and Costa Rica,” FIFA secretary-general Jerome Valcke said after the Colombia name was drawn and shown in the pool on the big screen above.

“Brazil-Colombia for the first game in Montreal in this group E,” he added.

“We made a mistake,” Valcke said moments later after Tatjana Haenni, FIFA’s deputy director of the competitions division and head of women’s football, pointed out the error.

Colombia was shifted to Group F. South Korea was placed in Group E.

With eight teams and only six groups, it was impossible to keep European teams apart in Saturday’s draw.