Atletico Madrid "reported" Arsenal to UEFA authorities for the lack of hot water at Emirates Stadium, which caused Colchoneros players to leave the stadium sweaty and wash at the hotel. The Gunners decided to apologize to their guests for the incident.

Malfunction at Emirates

There are many reasons for disagreements between clubs. They can argue about transfers, the number and price of tickets for visiting fans, or even sporting etiquette... but Atletico and Arsenal argued over hot water. Or rather, the lack of it in the visitors' changing room at Emirates Stadium.

On the eve of Tuesday's Champions League clash, Cholo Simeone's team showed up for afternoon training at the London facility. The staff notified the visitors about the malfunction, but were unable to fix it. Although Marcos Llorente, who is known for his eccentric routine of cold showers, ice baths, and walking around shirtless in winter, was probably not bothered at all by the situation, the Colchoneros players were surprised and annoyed that such a modern facility lacked hot water.

The staff therefore decided to end the training session at 7:15 p.m. instead of 7:30 p.m. so that they could return to the hotel earlier and take a shower there. Interestingly, just 10 minutes later, at 7:25 p.m., the fault was resolved.

© Paul Hudson | Emirates Stadium was built between 2004 and 2006 at a cost of £390M.

Atleti "reports" Arsenal... and gets a cold shower

According to Spanish media, the visiting players were furious about the situation, and the club informed UEFA about it and filed a complaint with Arsenal authorities. In response, the Gunners apologized to the visitors for the inconvenience, and the president of Atletico, when asked about the incident the next day, said: I take cold showers and nothing bad happens. Such things happen, and after a moment he added jokingly: We always have hot water at Estadio Metropolitano. It's the best stadium in the world.

The game ended with a cruel defeat for the team from Madrid, which, after a fairly even first half, was unable to respond to Gabriel's goal to make it 1-0 and collapsed after 60 minutes of play. Martinelli and Gyokeres, who scored a brace, mercilessly exploited their opponent’s weak moment, sealing the Gunners' 4-0 victory.

© Tim Snell | Arsenal's stadium can accommodate 60,704 spectators.