The second leg of the quarter-finals of the European Conference League became a great training for football laymen and experts in one little-known rule. The duel between the home team Lille and Aston Villa reached a penalty shootout, during which the famous provocateur Emiliano Martínez collected the second yellow card of the match. Despite this, the Argentinian goalkeeper was not excluded and his Villans could advance to the semi-finals, where they will face Olympiakos Piraeus. It turned out that Slovak referee Ivan Kružliak proceeded exactly in the spirit of the rules.
The former Arsenal goalkeeper is a thorn in the side of fans in France. During penalties, he can absolutely destroy the opponent’s executors, while not looking at the spirit of fair play. In the final of the 2022 World Cup, he enjoyed the shootout and destroyed the French’s dream of another title. History repeated itself in Lille on Thursday night. Martínez turned on the spectators, got under the skin of the shooters and neutralized two penalties from Bin Tálib and André.
Samir Nasri on Emiliano Martínez: “His behaviour annoys me because he wasn’t like that before. I knew him when he was very young at Arsenal. He was very shy.
And now, this behaviour has become his stock in trade.” pic.twitter.com/3E9jkzu1k9
— Football Tweet (@Football__Tweet) April 19, 2024
At the same time, when he again provoked the stands with his gesture immediately after the first series and showed them to be quiet, the referee showed him a yellow card. Already the second in the match, the first cashed for delay. However, a red card did not follow, much to the shock of most of the football public.
“To be honest, I also thought he was sent off,” England coach Unai Emery admitted to the media after the match. “I’m sorry to say it, but this was a terrible verdict from the referee,” shouted commentator Paul Dempsey of TNT Sports. He evaluated the situation in such a way that the referee changed his mind about the yellow card and reprimanded Martínez only verbally. The Slovakian arbitrator suddenly faced huge criticism on social networks as well.
Not right. Kružliak knew very well what he was doing. Yellow cards awarded during the match do not carry over into the penalty shootout. “A player who receives a yellow card during the match and penalty kicks is not sent off,” confirmed the International Football Association Board (IFAB), the highest refereeing authority. However, the rule only applies in recent years, which is why Thursday’s unusual incident caused such a stir.
Is there a more clutch goalkeeper in penalty shoot-outs than Emiliano Martinez? pic.twitter.com/WQPkv8yI03
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) April 19, 2024
Martínez ended his show in the fifth series. After a successful intervention, he turned to the Lille fans again and performed a dance. It was momentarily interrupted by Kružliak’s whistle while the video referee checked the goalkeeper’s position at the time of the kick. But after confirming the goal, the Argentine provocateur started dancing again.
“Yellow cards: 2. Penalties taken: 2. Dances: 2. Psst: 1. Inciting the crowd: 99,” one of the posts on social networks illustrated the goalkeeper’s record. “I’m proud of him. He’s a huge personality, he caught two penalties. He’s our key player,” highlighted coach Emery.
While Martínez is a hero for the last representative of England in the European Cup, they cannot think of his name in France. “I don’t want to talk at all about someone who lacks the basics of fair play,” condemned goalkeeper Olivier Letang, president of Lille.
2024-04-19 22:07:23
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