Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has found himself in hot water with FIFA, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association.
The governing body has handed Argentina’s World Cup hero a two-game suspension for “offensive behaviour” during the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Colombia.
Martinez’s actions that led to the ban were reminiscent of his infamous celebrations after Argentina’s 2022 World Cup victory. In the recent qualifiers, he repeated his controversial gesture of holding a replica Copa America trophy against his crotch after the 3-0 win over Chile in September. Additionally, he struck a camera with his gloves after the 2-1 defeat by Colombia.
Hermosa trompada del Dibu a la camara pic.twitter.com/I8WVJDb2KR
— Lucho Picholis (@Lucho_Picholis) September 10, 2024
While the Argentina Football Association has expressed its disagreement with the suspension, they acknowledged Martinez’s responsibility for his actions. The 32-year-old will now miss the upcoming qualifiers against Venezuela and Bolivia on October 10 and 15 respectively.
Martinez’s absence will undoubtedly be a blow to Argentina’s hopes of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. His exceptional goalkeeping skills have been instrumental to the team’s success in recent years, and his absence will be felt.
This incident serves as a reminder that even the most talented athletes can face consequences for their actions off the field. It remains to be seen how Martinez will respond to the ban and whether he will be able to avoid similar controversies in the future.
