ATLETICO MADRID FURIOUS WITH ARSENAL OVER LACK OF HOT WATER AT EMIRATES
ATLETICO Madrid’s players and staff were enraged by a hot water shortage at the Emirates Stadium on Monday, where they trained in pouring rain before Tuesday’s Champions League fixture against Arsenal.
Atletico complained to Arsenal at around 6.45pm about the situation, which meant their players were not able to shower in the away dressing room after their training session.
The hot water problem is understood to have been resolved by 7.30pm, by which point Atletico had already left the stadium to shower at their London hotel.
Sources say the Spanish side were due to train at the Emirates until 7.30pm and would therefore have been able to take hot showers as usual if they had not cut short their session. The hot water outage affected both dressing rooms.
Arsenal have apologised to Atletico, but Diego Simeone’s side remain furious about the situation.
Diego Simeone speaks to the press
Diego Simeone (pictured) and his players are not happy about the lack of hot water Credit: Getty Images/Harry Murphy
In Marca, the Spanish sports newspaper, it was reported that Atletico are “incredibly angry” and “don’t understand why a modern venue like the Emirates, and in a tournament like the Champions League, doesn’t have something so basic”.
And Carrusel Deportivo’s reporter in London has described “monumental anger” in the Spanish club’s travelling party.
Article 11 of Uefa’s regulations on infrastructure states that “stadiums must be equipped with… showers with hot water” in order to host Champions League matches. There is no mention in Article 11, however, of whether these rules also apply to training sessions the day before the game.
Arsenal have made a perfect start to their Champions League campaign, winning games against Athletic Bilbao and Olympiacos without conceding a goal, and are hoping to continue their good form against Simeone’s side.
Atletico are currently fourth in La Liga but will be a dangerous opponent. They have won four of their last five matches, including a thrilling 5-2 victory over rivals Real Madrid.
The Telegraph