Emiliano Martinez celebrates following saving a penalty kick in the World Cup Final
Patrick Vieira, a former player in the France national football team that won the World Cup in 1998, confirmed that the celebrations of the Argentine national team goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez, were “reckless”, and underestimated the victory that Argentina achieved in the 2022 World Cup.
Martinez starred in his team’s penalty victory over France in the final, but was criticized for some of his behaviour, including an unacceptable move he made following receiving his Golden Glove award as the best goalkeeper of the tournament.
He also repeatedly mocked French striker Kylian Mbappe.
“Some of the pictures I’ve seen of the Argentine goalkeeper, I think detract from what Argentina have achieved in the World Cup,” said Vieira, coach of the Crystal Palace team.
“I don’t think they really needed this,” he added.
He concluded, “Sometimes you can’t control people’s emotional decisions. But I think it was a reckless decision by Martinez to do that.”
The Aston Villa coach, Unai Emery, also stated that he intends to speak to Martinez, a professional in the club’s ranks, regarding his way of celebrating the victory.
Argentina had defeated France in the final of the World Cup in Qatar, 4-2, by penalty kicks, following the end of the original and extra time of the match, with three goals each.
In the dressing room following the match, Martinez called on his teammates to observe a minute’s silence for Mbappe, who scored a hat-trick for France in the final. Then he participated in more mockery of Mbappe during the Argentine team’s victory parade that was held in the capital, Buenos Aires, by raising a doll representing the French striker.
“When your emotions are running high, sometimes it’s hard to control,” said Emery, the Aston Villa manager.
He also said: “I will talk to him next week regarding some of his celebrations but I respect that he is now under the management of the national team, and when he is with us, he will be under our responsibility and then we can talk to him regarding it.”
“We are very proud of him,” he concluded. “He won the World Cup with his team and that’s great.”
On Thursday, Noel Le Greet, president of the French Football Federation, told the French newspaper Ouest-France that he had sent a message to his Argentine counterpart regarding the team’s “abnormal” celebrations.
Martinez’s penalty kicks grabbed the headlines following the final, his mental tricks shaking the confidence of the French players – Kingsley Coman’s shot was saved by the goalkeeper and Aurelien Chouamini missed.
Martinez has not yet returned to the Aston Villa team and will not be available for his team’s match with Liverpool on December 26, when the English Premier League matches resume following stopping during the World Cup.
“He’s back next week,” Emery said.
He added: “I want him to rest now because following the big emotional event and the stressful work, he should have a few days off to rest and then he will come back to work with us.”
