In France, Emiliano Martinez did not leave supporters with very good memories. Executioner of the Blues in the World Cup final, in the days that followed, he continued to tease the French, particularly Kylian Mbappé. And it's not certain that he restored his image on Thursday evening with Lille supporters.
Hero of Aston Villa, the goalkeeper continued to provoke the Losc supporters during the penalty shootout. “Dibu” Martinez, among others, distracted Nabil Bentaleb before stopping his attempt, then turning towards the Lille Ultras to demand silence from them with a provocative gesture. During the match and then during the penalty shootout, he received two yellow cards, without being sent off, in accordance with the regulations which he himself seemed to ignore.
But it was his behavior that annoyed the people of Lille. “An attitude which is not that of a very high-level athlete,” said Olivier Létang, president of Losc, eliminated by the English club on penalties despite the 2-1 victory. “I don't want us to spend time talking about this boy who has an attitude that is not that of a very high level athlete, because in high level sport, in victory or in defeat, you have to remain calm and elegant, so I prefer that we concentrate on ourselves and that we bring out all the positive aspects,” castigated the president of Lille.
Same story with Ludovik Obraniak. The former player of the northern club, consultant for the L'Équipe channel, did not appreciate the behavior of the Aston Villa goalkeeper and even lost his temper by insulting him: "Martinez eats your dead", said he launched on the social network
Jonathan David, the Mastiffs' scorer, was more measured: “Martinez likes to distract himself, as we saw on the first shot on goal, where he runs to get the ball,” he commented. Normally, he just has to go for his goal. For him, it's a tactical game. For me, it's like a penalty that I take in a match. Personally, I had a decision in mind and I stayed focused on that. »
Shamed by the supporters of the northern club, “Emi” Martinez was on the contrary congratulated by his coach Unai Emery: “Emiliano Martinez is very important for us. He has his personality, which has weight in the locker room. He's a leader every day, with a great mindset, and when he plays, he has his personality too. During the penalty shootout he was also great. I am very proud of him. I believe in him, I know he is mature and responsible. I accept him as he is. He is still under control. » Lille coach Paulo Fonseca was also admiring, calling him a “great goalkeeper”.
As for the person concerned, he couldn't help but put it on X again after the meeting, posting a photo of one of his stops and another of his finger on his mouth.
The Argentinian goalkeeper also clarified that he loved the French players despite everything. “I spent all my years at Arsenal and Aston Villa surrounded by French players. They are very good people, I appreciate them,” he said. Not sure it's enough to ease the resentment.