FIFA ban Argentina goalkeeper Martinez over offensive behaviour

Abdullateef Fowewe

Argentina’s World Cup-winning goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez, has been banned for two matches by FIFA for offensive behaviour.

This was disclosed by the Argentine Football Association on Saturday.

The ban follows incidents where Martinez held a replica Copa America trophy to his groin after a World Cup qualifier against Chile and struck a cameraman’s equipment following a defeat to Colombia.

The Aston Villa star was also found guilty of “violating principles of fairplay” in two separate episodes.

Martinez was found to have violated FIFA’s code of conduct when holding a replica of the Copa America trophy to his groin after the World Cup qualifier win over Chile on September 5.

It is not the first time Martinez has

performed such an action having also done it with the Golden Glove trophy for best goalkeeper after Argentina beat France on penalties in the 2022 World Cup final.

FIFA also sanctioned him for hitting a TV cameraman’s camera with his gloves after their 2-1 defeat to Colombia on September 10.

The AFA has expressed strong disagreement with FIFA’s decision, which will see Martinez miss upcoming qualifiers against Venezuela and Bolivia, where Argentina currently leads the South American qualifying table.

AFA said, “It should be noted that the Argentine Football Association expresses its absolute disagreement with the decision taken by the FIFA disciplinary committee.”