“We got UEFA, not Arsenal”: Madrid Mayor alleges plot to keep Atlético out of Champions League Final

Madrid mayor José Luis Martínez‑Almeida ignited controversy after claiming UEFA “did everything possible to keep Atlético Madrid out” of the Champions League final, following the team’s 1–0 defeat to Arsenal on Tuesday night in the second leg of the semifinals.

Speaking at a press conference at the Palacio de Cibeles, Almeida — a well‑known Atlético supporter — argued that the European governing body “did not want” the club playing for the title in Budapest on May 30.

“What I will say is that when I saw the draw, I thought we got Arsenal. But I was wrong — we got UEFA,” he said. “And UEFA made it clear they didn’t want Atlético Madrid in the Champions League final. It’s impossible to understand why they assigned a German referee when Spain and Germany are fighting for the fifth Champions League spot. Who is their right mind, apart from UEFA, would assign German officials - one as the main referee and the other in charge of VAR?”

Claims of bias and missed calls

Almeida insisted that several key moments in the match reflected “a predetermined intention to harm Atlético.”

He pointed to a controversial sequence involving Giuliano Simeone, where the assistant referee raised the offside flag before the Argentine forward was shoved by Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori.

“It’s unbelievable that there wasn’t a single replay angle of Giuliano’s offside when it was a clear penalty,” he said. “Later on social media, we saw he wasn’t offside — he started the play in his own half. In a live broadcast game with so many television cameras, why didn’t the production team show a replay to see if it was offside or not? Because it wasn’t offside and they didn’t want to acknowledge it.”

The mayor also criticized the decision not to award a penalty to Antoine Griezmann, arguing that the foul called moments earlier on Marc Pubill “didn’t exist.”

He went on to add: “And the stoppage time (five minutes) was the final proof. The referee wanted that match over as quickly as possible so Arsenal would go to Budapest instead of Atlético.”

“We played against UEFA, not Arsenal”

Almeida closed with a no-holds-barred rebuke of UEFA’s officiating: “Atlético fans are proud of our team because they weren’t competing against Arsenal — they were competing against UEFA. You can beat Arsenal over 180 minutes. You can’t beat UEFA. They put the entire machine in motion to make sure Atlético didn’t advance, and the referee carried out that plan. There was intent. It was impossible to win.”

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