Soccer UEFA Champions League group stage drawUEFA is to investigate Roman Abramovich's links with CSKA Moscow after Chelsea were drawn in the same Champions League group (H) as the Russian club yesterday.

The oil company of which Abramovich is the majority shareholder, Sibneft, signed a £30 million three-year sponsorship deal with CSKA in March and UEFA wants to establish whether the Chelsea owner has deeper ties with the club.

Amid suggestions of a possible conflict of interest, European football's governing body wants to clarify if Abramovich has a controlling (51 per cent) interest in CSKA as its rules, in line with European law, forbid anyone from owning two teams in the same competition.

Abramovich is a close friend of the CSKA president Yevgeny Giner and watched the club reach the first group stage of Champions League at Rangers on Wednesday, reportedly celebrating in the team's dressing-room afterwards. But Chelsea said last night neither Sibneft nor Abramovich have a stake "or any direct interest" in CSKA, adding that UEFA and other Champions League clubs should be "completely unconcerned" by the shirt-sponsorship link.

"We are going to look into it and see if there is a controlling interest by Mr Abramovich with two teams in the same group," said UEFA's communications director, William Gaillard. "We have to find out whether it is a controlling interest or not. We may already have the facts to decide to dismiss it as a problem but it has to be looked into thoroughly."

Chelsea's draw with CSKA added to the intrigue in a group in which they also face Porto, their manager Jose Mourinho's previous club, and Paris St-Germain.

Mourinho was so firm in his decision to quit Porto that in May he avoided the celebrations following the Champions League triumph of the side he had built. He did not even touch the trophy. Upon his appointment at Chelsea, Mourinho spoke of the seductive comforts he had fended off in favour of the Premiership.

"If I wanted to have an easy job," he said, "I would have stayed at Porto - beautiful blue chair, the UEFA Champions League trophy, God, and after God, me."

The bench may be more hotseat than throne on December 7th when Mourinho takes Chelsea to the Dragao stadium and the locals, at best ambivalent about a man who dropped their team as soon as he had raised it to the heights, no longer consider him a deity.

Mourinho has the satisfaction of knowing he personally undermined the Porto line-up when he brought Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira to London. In addition to that, the playmaker Deco headed for Barcelona.

All the same, Victor Fernandez still has the bulk of the line-up that took the Champions League.They are bolstered by Giourkas Seitaridis, the Greece full back, the Portugal winger Ricardo Quaresma, the Brazilian teenage midfielder Diego, whom Spurs once hoped to buy, and Helder Postiga, who has gone back to Porto after a year at White Hart Lane. Tonight's Super Cup game in Monaco will be unusually interesting as the revamped squad takes on Valencia.

Peter Kenyon, the Chelsea chief executive, referred to the club's Champions League programme as "the group of stories". Chelsea are well equipped to go through to the knock-out phase, even if PSG have embarked on yet another effort to become the pre-eminent force in France by bringing in Monaco winger Jerome Rothen.

Power there has lain with Lyon, title-winners for the last three seasons. They also advanced to the quarter-finals of the Champions League this year before being eliminated by Porto.

Lyon thereby went one stage further than Manchester United, whom they now join in Group D. That fact will not be lost on Alex Ferguson but his squad is demonstrably stronger. United should also have too much ability for Sparta Prague. Fenerbahce might have been the first visitors to win at Old Trafford in European competition, but they are touched by the economic gloom of the Turkish League.

Arsenal did not try to suppress their glee yesterday and the prospect of matches with Panathinaikos, PSV Eindhoven and Rosenborg with Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood saying, "I couldn't have drawn it better myself."

There will be stirrings of hope at Liverpool over the make-up of group A. Olympiakos will not daunt them and Monaco, still in financial trouble despite reaching the Champions League final, have lost players such as their captain Ludovic Giuly.

Deportivo thrashed Milan 4-0 at home in the most surprising result of last season, but they can be muted. The Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez, steeped in La Liga experience, will also hold ideas on how to stop them.

Celtic have to encounter their recent hero Henrik Larsson, who is now in the colours of Barcelona, and the Swede is not even the principal star of Frank Rijkaard's team. With Deco, Giuly, Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o combining, they should set the record straight after beingbested by Martin O'Neill's squad in the UEFA Cup last season.

Celtic are also up against Milan, many people's favourites to recover the trophy they won in 2003. Shakhtar Donetsk are to be feared as well. Owned by Rinat Akhmetov, the wealthiest man in Ukraine, they have the shrewd Mircea Lucescu to guide a costly squad.

Champions League Groups and fixtures

Group A

Deportivo La Coruna

Liverpool

Monaco

Olympiakos

FIXTURES

Wed Sept 15th: Liverpool v Monaco; Deportivo v Olympiakos. Tues Sept 28th: Olympiakos v Liverpool; Monaco v Deportivo. Tues Oct 19th: Monaco v Olympiakos; Liverpool v Deportivo. Wed Nov 3rd: Olympiakos v Monaco; Deportivo v Liverpool. Tues Nov 23rd: Monaco v Liverpool; Olympiakos v Deportivo. Wed Dec 8th: Liverpool v Olympiakos; Deportivo v Monaco.

Group B

Real Madrid

Roma

Bayer Leverkusen

Dynamo Kiev

FIXTURES

Wed Sept 15th: Roma v Kiev; Leverkusen v Real. Tues Sept 28th: Kiev v Leverkusen; Real v Roma. Tues Oct 19th: Real v Kiev ; Leverkusen v Roma. Wed Nov 3rd: Kiev v Real; Roma v Leverkusen. Tues Nov 23rd: Real v Leverkusen; Kiev v Roma. Wed Dec 8th: Leverkusen v Kiev; Roma v Real.

Group C

Bayern Munich

Juventus

Ajax

Maccabi Tel-Aviv

FIXTURES

Wed Sept 15th: Ajax v Juventus; Maccabi v Bayern Munich. Tues Sept 28th: Juventus v Maccabi; Bayern Munich v Ajax. Tues Oct 19th: Juventus v Bayern Munich; Ajax v Maccabi Tel. Wed Nov 3rd: Bayern Munich v Juventus; Maccabi v Ajax. Tues Nov 23rd: Bayern Munich v Maccabi; Juventus v Ajax. Wed Dec 8th: Ajax v Bayern Munich; Maccabi v Juventus (Italy)

Group D

Manchester United

Lyon

Sparta Prague

Fenerbahce

FIXTURES

Wed Sept 15th: Lyon v Manchester Utd; Fenerbahce v Prague. Tues Sept 28th: Manchester Utd v Fenerbahce; Prague v Lyon. Tues Oct 19th: Prague v Manchester Utd; Fenerbahce v Lyon. Wed Nov 3rd: Manchester Utd v Prague; Lyon v Fenerbahce. Tues Nov 23rd: Manchester Utd v Lyon; Prague v Fenerbahce. Wed Dec 8th: Fenerbahce v Manchester Utd; Lyon v Prague.

Group E

Arsenal

Panathinaikos

PSV Eindhoven

Rosenborg

FIXTURES

Tues Sept 14th: Arsenal v PSV; Panathinaikos v Rosenborg. Wed Sept 29th: PSV v Panathinaikos; Rosenborg v Arsenal. Wed Oct 20th: Rosenborg v PSV; Panathinaikos v Arsenal. Tues Nov 2nd: PSV v Rosenborg; Arsenal v Panathinaikos. Wed Nov 24th: PSV v Arsenal; Rosenborg v Panathinaikos. Tues Dec 7th: Panathinaikos v PSV; Arsenal v Rosenborg.

Group F

Barcelona

AC Milan

Celtic

Shakhtar Donetsk

FIXTURES

Tues Sept 14th: Celtic v Barcelona; Shakhtar v AC Milan. Wed Sept 29th: Barcelona v Shakhtar; AC Milan v Celtic. Wed Oct 20th: AC Milan v Barcelona; Shakhtar v Celtic. Tues Nov 2nd: Barcelona v AC Milan; Celtic v Shakhtar. Wed Nov 24th: Barcelona v Celtic; AC Milan v Shakhtar. Tues Dec 7th: Shakhtar v Barcelona. Celtic v AC Milan.

Group G

Valencia

Inter Milan

Anderlecht

Werder Bremen

FIXTURES

Tues Sept 14th: Valencia v Anderlecht; Inter Milan v Werder. Wed Sept 29th: Anderlecht v Inter Milan; Werder v Valencia. Wed Oct 20th: Anderlecht v Werder; Valencia v Inter Milan. Tues Nov 2nd: Werder v Anderlecht; Inter Milan v Valencia. Wed Nov 24th: Anderlecht v Valencia; Werder v Inter Milan. Tues Dec 7th: Valencia v Werder; Inter Milan v Anderlecht.

Group H

Porto

Chelsea

Paris Saint-Germain

CSKA Moskow

FIXTURES

Tues Sept 14th: Porto v CSKA, PSG v Chelsea. Wed Sept 29th: CSKA v Paris St Germain; Chelsea v Porto. Wed Oct 20th: PSG v Porto; Chelsea v CSKA. Tues Nov 2nd: Porto v PSG; CSKA v Chelsea. Wed Nov 24th: CSKA v Porto; Chelsea v PSG. Tues Dec 7th: PSG v CSKA; Porto v Chelsea.