By Amaechi Agbo
The Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, has launched a furious attack on the Union or European Football Association, UEFA alleging favouritism for Arsenal
The Mayor claimed that the draw pairing Arsenal against Athletico Madrid in the Semi-final of the 2026 UEFA Champions League was masterminded to ensure that Athletico didn’t reach the final.
“When I saw the draw, I thought we got Arsenal but I was wrong, we got UEFA. UEFA made it clear they didn’t want Atlético de Madrid in the Champions League final. There were plays that reflected a PREDETERMINED INTENTION to harm Atlético.”
“Atlético 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
“UEFA put all its machinery in place so Atlético wouldn’t get through, and the referee was the EXECUTOR of that will. There was intent. We couldn’t beat UEFA, and it was IMPOSSIBLE to do so.”
Arsenal on Tuesday beat Athletico Madrid 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium to reach the final on 2-1 aggregate after both teams battled for 1-1 draw in the first leg last week.
It is the first time Arsenal is reaching Champions League Final in 20 years. In 2006 when they faced Barcelona, they lost the match 2-1.
Arsenal also reached this year’s final unbeaten in the league.
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