Argentina’s World Cup-winning goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has been banned for two matches by FIFA for “offensive behavior,” as announced by the Argentine Football Association on Saturday.
The 32-year-old Aston Villa player was found guilty of “violating principles of fair play” in two incidents. One violation occurred when he held a replica of the Copa America trophy to his groin after Argentina’s World Cup qualifier victory over Chile on September 5.
This is not the first instance of such behavior; Martinez previously posed similarly with the Golden Glove trophy after Argentina’s win over France in the 2022 World Cup final.
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FIFA also sanctioned him for striking a TV cameraman’s camera with his gloves following their 2-1 defeat to Colombia on September 10.
The AFA expressed their discontent with FIFA’s ruling.
“The Argentine Football Association expresses its strong disagreement with the decision made by the FIFA disciplinary committee,” they stated.
As a result of this ruling, Martinez—who was a key player in Argentina’s Copa America victories in July and 2021—will miss the World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela on October 10 and Bolivia on October 15.
Argentina currently leads the South American qualifying table with 18 points after eight matches, with Colombia just two points behind.
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