Morning all.
Talk about being gracious in defeat – not a chance of that coming out of Madrid from staunch Atletico fan and city mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida. He claims premeditated corruption against UEFA. The Daily Mail have quoted him as saying:
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. 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 Claimed three penalty appeals were rejected during the game. Riccardo Calafiori pushing Giuliano Simeone in the box, (one similar to the shove on Leandro Trossard in Madrid which was deemed to be ok) but the linesman had already flagged for offside.
It’s incomprehensible that there isn’t a single replay of Giuliano 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.
Gabriel made the slightest of contact with Simeone jnr which VAR, if they checked it, they didn’t think it warranted any further action and the third penalty shout came when Riccardo Calafiori stepped on Antoine Griezmann’s foot after the striker had a shot saved by Raya. Instead, Arsenal were awarded a free kick after Marc Pubill fouled Gabriel beforehand.
It’s blatant, the referee blows his whistle once Griezmann falls, Pubill’s foul doesn’t exist. And then the added time is clear proof that the referee wanted the match to end as quickly as possible and for Arsenal to go to Budapest instead of Atletico Madrid. 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.
Martinez-Almeida added:
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.
It’s funny isn’t it, we didn’t hear or read anything from Martinez-Almeida when Simeone was jumping up and down on the sidelines demanding the officials review the penalty awarded to Arsenal when Ebe Eze was tripped in the box during the first leg. VAR decided to go against the rules that night when despite no evidence of a “clear and obvious error” made by the referee, he decided to overturn his original decision. Did Arsenal any Arsenal fan in high places publicly claim corruption, no, and right now we have one in a very high place. Not sure for how much longer though. Lol
Arsenal football club and all who support it had to simply accept it, suck it up and move on. Just as we’ve had to on many occasions before now and had to on Tuesday night when numerous fouls on Viktor Gyokeres went unpunished.
At least Simeone and Oblak were gracious in defeat with both saying the better team went through.
As for appointing German officials, so what? It’s not their fault or Arsenal’s that La Liga and the Bundesliga are fighting it out for an extra Champions League spot. In any case, with Atletico sat ten points clear in 4th place, I’m pretty sure they’ve already qualified so why is the Madrid mayor getting his knickers in a knot anyway?
Arsenal will face PSG in the final later this month after they narrowly defeated Bayern last night. By all accounts, the French club were in scintillating form and look back to their best. The time to worry about that game will come but before then, Arsenal have 3 more cup finals to win, the ones which in my opinion, matter most.
Manchester City host Brentford on Saturday before we travel to the London Stadium to face a side fighting for Premier League survival. Yes, it’s another big weekend for Arsenal.
Catch up in the comments.
The Madrid mayor is a joke,they were beaten fair and square. Just take it.
From yesterday’s post quoting Mourinho,I just can’t trust anything that man says,he is probably buttering up Arsenal fans for when we look for a new manager,we are one of the only major clubs who seem to give the manager power.
Catalonia , La Rioja yes but Madrid not so much although they do like a bit of Bull’s blood .
As I said the other day , they are quite easy to wind up and Simeone is the perfect outlet for them .
Interesting conspiracy theory about Eze , Palace and money , keeps us entertained.
Let’s hope it’s true Devil.
Morning Cicero, you are on form. The sun must be shining your way. 😝
Good morning Rico and all. I enjoyed the post, I guess it’s just a case of sour grapes. A shame really because Spain produce some excellent wine from their home grown fruit. 😉
There are rumours going around (I don’t know if they are true) that CP are set to bank between 7M-10M from the Eze sale if Arsenal win the EPL.
We play CP on the last day of the league. Make of that what you will.
Morning Devil, all.
I agree, keep our powder dry.
People outside of Arsenal hate that we are in the final which I find amusing. The more they bleat, the more we fight I hope.
Good Morning Rico and all
Pathetic from the Mayor imo. As you said, he threw his toys out of the pram. The more the opposition talk the more I am convinced that deep down they know what they faced. They just cannot admit their failings. At least he gave out enough fodder for a good article above.
I also read what Luis Enrique said about himself and his team not fearing anyone in the Champions league. He actually said that no team is better than his PSG team. Now while I agree that cat owners and/or dog owners think their cat/dog is the most handsome and beautiful in the world (and all are right), when it comes to football squads one begs to differ. Because you are depending on a collection of individuals performing together. Or not.
Let them talk. Whatever they want to say.
Imo the less Arteta and the players talk the better. Silence is golden.