Atletico Madrid File Complaint Against Arsenal to UEFA Before Champions League Clash

Just hours before the two sides meet at the Emirates Stadium for a tense Champions League clash, Atletico Madrid has filed a protest with UEFA. Diego Simeone’s players came to London earlier this week and, as is typical, practiced on the pitch where they will play on Tuesday night.

Since losing their first league match of the season to Espanyol and then succumbing late in their Champions League opener against Liverpool, Atletico have gone five games unbeaten, including a 5-2 victory against Real Madrid and a 5-1 thrashing of Eintracht Frankfurt. While the Gunners have only surrendered once in open play this season, they will undoubtedly have their job cut out for them under the lights.

To make matters even more tense ahead of kickoff as the north Londoners look to extend their winning streak in Europe, Tuesday night’s visitors have reportedly filed a complaint about Arsenal’s facilities, with the La Liga giants said to be “confused” by the lack of modernity in certain areas of the Emirates Stadium.

Atletico Madrid Files Complaint About Emirates Stadium Facilities.

Following their training session, the Atletico Madrid players were met with cold water from the dressing room showers. According to Spanish news outlet Marca, the players were “furious,” “surprised,” and “confused” that such a contemporary stadium lacked such a fundamental convenience.

Atleti officials notified Arsenal at 6:45 p.m., shortly after training began, about the problem. Although they had expected to complete at 7:30, the La Liga team decided to shorten their preparations, and when they returned to the changing rooms, the matter had not been resolved.

The Sun stated that hot water had been restored by 7:25 p.m., but Simeone and his tired players had already decided to board the team bus and bathe in their hotel. Arsenal then quickly apologised to the Spanish club, emphasising that such an incident had never happened before.

While the situation appears to be an unfortunate occurrence, those who are aware with Mikel Arteta’s ways would know that the Spaniard will go to any length to obtain an advantage. In recent seasons, he has dabbled in the black arts of football, from time-wasting techniques to blaring Liverpool’s hymn ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ during training to replicate match conditions.

Given Simeone’s fiery personality, annoying Simeone and his team ahead of their match would not be the worst plan. He was sent off and later suspended by UEFA following a verbal altercation with a Liverpool supporter at Anfield. Meanwhile, in their last five games, Atletico has been reduced to ten men twice, demonstrating how readily they can resemble a bull in a china shop when emotions run high.