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Madrid's mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida has leveled accusations at UEFA of showing bias toward Arsenal during Atlético Madrid's two-legged Champions League semifinal loss to the Gunners.
Arsenal secured only their second-ever Champions League final berth on Tuesday evening after claiming victory in the second leg against Atléti in north London. Bukayo Saka netted the sole goal of the match, sealing a 2–1 aggregate triumph for Mikel Arteta's side following a goalless draw at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano the week prior.
The semifinal tie was riddled with controversy across both matches, and Martínez-Almeida, a devoted Atlético supporter, believes foul play was at the root of his club's failure to reach the showpiece final.
"Well look, what I'm saying is that when I saw the draw I thought we'd face Arsenal and I was mistaken. We ended up playing against UEFA. And UEFA has made it abundantly clear that they had no intention of allowing Atlético Madrid into the Champions League final," Madrid's mayor fumed during a media appearance on Wednesday.
Why Madrid Mayor Has Lambasted UEFA
Martínez-Almeida's grievances stem from a series of contentious refereeing calls made by German official Daniel Siebert at the Emirates Stadium, including multiple penalty appeals that Madrid felt were unjustly dismissed.
"It's incomprehensible that they appointed a German referee when Spain and Germany are competing for the fifth Champions League spot," Martínez-Almeida continued. "Who, other than UEFA, would think of assigning a German referee as both the main official and the VAR referee?
"And yesterday there were incidents that weren't down to the referee simply being poor, but in my view, the result of a predetermined agenda designed to harm Atlético Madrid."
There are three specific incidents the 51-year-old is alluding to. The first involved a shove by Riccardo Calafiori on Giuliano Simeone inside the Arsenal penalty area, which was initially waved off after Simeone was ruled offside. However, replays have since indicated that Simeone was actually onside, as he was still in his own half when the ball was played to him.
"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 acknowledge it."
Simeone was subsequently denied yet another spot kick later in the game when he pounced on a wayward header from William Saliba. The Argentine burst through on goal and appeared to be knocked off balance by Gabriel, causing him to mishit his effort with the net wide open. Once again, neither the referee nor VAR intervened.
The third penalty claim once again featured Calafiori, who undeniably stepped on Antoine Griezmann's foot inside the box. However, the referee had already awarded a foul in Arsenal's favor following a collision between Marc Pubill and Gabriel moments earlier. Upon review, VAR upheld the decision to penalize Pubill.
"It's inexplicable that they would appoint a German referee, that they wouldn't show replays of such crucial incidents 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 frustrated 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 conveniently omitted was the refereeing display of Danny Makkelie during the first leg in Madrid, which featured three additional penalty incidents that came under scrutiny.
Viktor Gyökeres was brought down in the box by Dávid Hancko, who was rightly penalized as Arsenal converted from the spot to take the lead. However, a somewhat contentious decision against Ben White then handed Atléti the chance to level.
A shot deflected off White's leg and onto his extended arm shortly after the interval at the Metropolitano, yet a penalty was still awarded against the right back under UEFA's handball regulations, which are more stringent than those applied in the Premier League.
Arsenal were then given another penalty when Eberechi Eze was caught by Hancko in the area, but despite clear contact between the two players, Makkelie reversed his original decision after consulting the VAR monitor. Yet another debatable call that went against Arsenal on Spanish soil.