Atletico Madrid have filed a formal protest to UEFA after players and staff were forced to leave the Emirates Stadium without showering following their final training session ahead of tonight’s UEFA Champions League meeting with Arsenal.

The Spanish side, who held their pre-match session in London under rain, discovered the dressing room showers had no hot water and escalated the matter immediately to Arsenal’s officials. The issue remained unresolved before the end of training.

Spanish outlet Marca reported that Diego Simeone’s men were stunned that a modern arena of the Emirates’ profile could suffer such a “basic facilities lapse’’ on the eve of a major UEFA fixture.

The squad are understood to have returned to their hotel to freshen up and complete preparations for the tie.

Atletico condemned the incident as “unacceptable’’ in a protest note already transmitted to UEFA, insisting such conditions fall short of minimum competition standards.