EMILIANO MARTINEZ has been slammed by Chris Sutton for his “despicable” behaviour in Argentina’s World Cup final win over France.
The Aston Villa goalkeeper had a game to remember as he saved Kingsley Coman’s penalty in the shootout.
That was just moments after an incredible stop to deny Randal Kolo Muani a last-gasp winner in extra time.
Martinez had a second reason for celebrating at the final whistle as he was also awarded the Golden Glove for Qatar 2022.
But he managed to overshadow the moment by performing a crude gesture in front of millions glued to their TV screen.
Later on, Martinez mocked hat-trick hero Kylian Mbappe by demanding a minute’s silence for the “dead’ France star in Argentina’s dressing room.
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Yet his most controversial moment came while still on the pitch.
After saving Coman’s penalty, Martinez then proceeded to play some elaborate mind games on Aurelian Tchouameni.
As the Real Madrid star prepared for his kick, Martinez unsportingly threw the ball away, forcing Tchouameni to wait longer at the spot.
And when the time came for the penalty, the midfielder inevitably blasted his effort wide of the post, prompting Martinez to perform a dance in front of Argentina supporters.
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This did not sit well with former player Sutton, who described Martinez’s actions during the shootout as “despicable.”
Expressing his sympathy for Tchouameni, Sutton told the Mail: “I wasn’t overly enamoured with Martinez’s antics in the shootout.
“I thought it was a pretty despicable thing to do (throwing the ball away). I can understand the mind games and heat of the moment you do whatever it takes.
“But I thought that was totally unnecessary. If you’re Tchouameni walking past Martinez (in the guard of honour) you probably feel like biffing him one.
“I didn’t like that at all but I can understand Martinez in that moment trying to win a World Cup.
“But he didn’t just chuck it a couple of yards away, he launched it 15, 20 yards away. I really felt for Tchouameni in that moment.
“That wasn’t on. It would have been interesting if Martinez had been booked for that because he got one on the next penalty.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
