Fuming Madrid mayor claims Atletico ‘played against UEFA’ not Arsenal in angry corruption rant after Champions League semi-final defeat

In the wake of Arsenal’s 2-1 aggregate triumph, sealed by a decisive Bukayo Saka goal on Tuesday night, Martinez-Almeida launched a scathing attack on the integrity of the competition. The Madrid mayor suggested that the outcome was predetermined long before the final whistle blew at the Emirates Stadium, insisting that Atletico were facing an uphill battle against institutional bias rather than just Mikel Arteta's players.

Speaking in a sensational rant on Wednesday, he said: “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 Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final. It's incomprehensible that they appointed a German referee when Spain and Germany are playing for the fifth Champions League spot.”

The mayor’s frustration appears rooted in the selection of the officiating crew, particularly given the coefficient battle between nations for extra European places. He believes the appointment of German officials for such a high-stakes encounter was a calculated move designed to disadvantage the Spanish club and facilitate an Arsenal victory.

“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 Atletico Madrid,” Martinez-Almeida continued, doubling down on his claims of a conspiracy within the governing body.

Central to the anger in Madrid were two specific incidents involving Riccardo Calafiori. The first saw Giuliano Simeone go down under a challenge from the Italian defender, only for a marginal offside call to negate any penalty claim. The mayor expressed disbelief at the lack of television replays provided during the broadcast to clarify the decision, suggesting relevant footage was intentionally withheld.

“It's incomprehensible that there isn't a single replay of Giuliano's offside when it was a clear penalty. 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,” he added, further fueling the narrative of a "fixed" result.

A second penalty shout involving Calafiori and Antoine Griezmann was also dismissed, while the amount of stoppage time added at the end of the game was cited as further "proof" of bias. For Martinez-Almeida, the performance of the officials was merely a tool used by the higher-ups to ensure the North London side booked their tickets to the showpiece event in Hungary.

He concluded his outburst by stating: “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. We drew the UEFA Cup, not Arsenal, in the draw to go to Budapest. That's why I think we Atletico fans are proud of our team because they competed not against Arsenal, but against UEFA. You can beat Arsenal over 180 minutes, but you can't beat UEFA. And UEFA set in motion the entire machinery to prevent Atletico Madrid from advancing in yesterday's match, and the referee was the one who carried out that will.”