Madrid’s mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida has accused UEFA of favoring Arsenal during Atlético Madrid’s two-legged Champions League semifinal defeat to the Gunners.
Arsenal reached only their second ever Champions League final on Tuesday night following their second leg victory over Atléti in north London. Bukayo Saka scored the only goal of the game, ensuring a 2–1 aggregate win for Mikel Arteta’s men after a stalemate at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano the previous week.
The semifinal tie was fraught with controversy across both fixtures, and Martínez-Almeida, who is an Atlético supporter, believes foul play was involved in his side missing out on the showpiece event.
“Well look, what I’m saying is that when I saw the draw I thought we’d get Arsenal and I was wrong. We got to play against UEFA. And UEFA has made it clear that they didn't want Atlético Madrid in the Champions League final,” Madrid’s mayor fumed during a media appearance on Wednesday.
Why Madrid Mayor Has Lambasted UEFA
Martínez-Almeida’s frustrations are born from some debatable refereeing decisions made by German referee Daniel Siebert at the Emirates Stadium, including several penalty calls Madrid believe went against them.
“It’s incomprehensible that they appointed a German referee when Spain and Germany are playing for the fifth Champions League spot,” Martínez-Almeida added. “Who, other than UEFA, would think of appointing a German referee as both the main referee and the VAR referee?
“And yesterday there were plays that weren’t due to the referee being more or less bad, but in my opinion, due to a predetermined decision aimed at harming Atlético Madrid.”
There are three incidents to which the 51-year-old is referring. The first involved a push by Riccardo Calafiori on Giuliano Simeone in the Arsenal box, initially dismissed due to the latter being deemed offside. However, replays have suggested that Simeone was actually onside as he was in his own half when the pass to him was played.
“It’s incomprehensible that there isn’t a single replay of Giuliano’s offside when it was a clear penalty,” said Martínez-Almeida. “We later saw on social media that it wasn’t offside and that he left his own half. In a match broadcast by so many television cameras, why didn’t the production team show a replay to determine whether it was offside or not? Because it wasn’t offside, and they refused to admit it.”
Simeone was then denied another spot kick later in the match when capitalizing on William Saliba’s poor header. The Argentine raced through on goal and appeared to be shrugged off balance by Gabriel, forcing him to skew his kick with the goal gaping. Again, the referee and VAR were unmoved.
The final penalty claim involved Calafiori again. The Italian undoubtedly trod on the foot of Antoine Griezmann in the area, but the referee had already given a foul in Arsenal’s favor following a coming together between Marc Pubill and Gabriel a second earlier. On review, VAR agreed with the decision to punish Pubill.
“It’s inexplicable that they would appoint a German referee, that they wouldn’t show replays of such important plays as Giuliano’s offside, and that at the same time we all know that VAR doesn’t call the referee when he blows his whistle ... when Griezmann goes down, but not when he says there’s a foul by Pubill,” a vexed Matínez-Almeida said.
“There’s intent in my opinion. I insist, Arsenal could have been beaten, but we couldn’t beat the UEFA Cup and it was impossible to beat it.”
Arsenal Penalty Claim Overlooked
What Martínez-Almeida failed to mention was the refereeing performance of Danny Makkelie during the first leg in Madrid, during which there were three more penalty incidents under examination.
Viktor Gyökeres was bundled over in the area by Dávid Hancko, who was deservedly punished as Arsenal took the lead from the spot. However, a somewhat harsh decision against Ben White then allowed Atléti to equalize.
A shot ricocheted off White’s leg and onto his outstretched arm shortly after half time at the Metropolitano, but a penalty was still given against the right back courtesy of UEFA’s handball laws, which are stricter than those in the Premier League.
Arsenal were then awarded another penalty when Eberechi Eze was clipped by Hancko in the area, but despite contact between the pair, Makkelie overturned his decision after being sent to the VAR monitor. Another questionable decision that went against Arsenal in Madrid.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Predetermined’—Arsenal, UEFA Face Wild Corruption Claims From Madrid Mayor.
