Atletico Madrid have lodged an official complaint with UEFA against Arsenal after facing an unexpected issue during their training session at the Emirates Stadium, according to Metro.
Diego Simeone’s men held their final training session at Arsenal’s ground in north London on Monday evening ahead of Tuesday’s eagerly awaited Champions League group-stage clash.
However, the Spanish side were reportedly left “surprised” and “angered” when they discovered there was no hot water available in the dressing rooms. Atletico immediately notified UEFA to “acknowledge the anomalous situation.”
Spanish outlet Marca revealed that Atletico had raised the concern with Arsenal officials before training commenced at 6:45 p.m., but the issue remained unresolved by the time the team concluded their session at 7:15 p.m.
As a result, players had to return to their London hotel to shower.
Marca added that Atletico’s management were puzzled as to how the Emirates Stadium,widely regarded as one of England’s top facilities, could be without hot water.
When contacted, Arsenal admitted the problem and explained that the hot water supply was restored by 7:25 p.m., shortly after Atletico had departed. The Premier League club also issued an apology to the Spanish visitors ahead of the Champions League encounter.
Arsenal currently sit top of the Premier League and joint-top in their Champions League group with two wins from two matches. Atletico, meanwhile, occupy 10th place out of 36 teams, having bounced back from a narrow loss to Liverpool with a commanding 5–1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.
