EVERY Premier League game involving a team fighting for the Champions League was delayed following the red card to Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Martinez was shown a straight red card in the first half of Villa’s battle with Manchester United at Old Trafford after he wiped out a goal-bound Rasmus Hojlund.
That red card caused a hefty delay in the United vs Villa game – subsequently delaying every other match involving teams competing for Champions League places.
Sky Sports presenter Dave Jones revealed that the second-halves involving the European hopefuls had been delayed so they could kick off at the same time.
That meant Man Utd vs Villa, Fulham vs Man City, Newcastle vs Everton and Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea all had to wait around to sync up their second-half kick off.
The decision isn’t unusual and is made in the interest of competitive integrity, aiming to avoid any two teams from being able to settle for a certain result in the knowledge that a different game has gone their way elsewhere.
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Villa, Chelsea, Forest, Newcastle and City are all battling for the three remaining places in the Champions League next season – with Arsenal and champions Liverpool already wrapping up two of the five allocated spots.
The other six games being played in the Prem were not impacted by the delay and were allowed to kick off their second halves as usual.
Martinez’ red card made Villa’s chances of sneaking into the Champions League places much more difficult, and it was a nightmare for him too.
That’s because the Argentine was seemingly playing his final game for the Villans, having waved goodbye to Villa Park with teary eyes last weekend.
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It was an impossible task too, as Villa wound up losing 2-0 to Man Utd.
That result meant that Unai Emery’s side fell out of the Champions League spots and ultimately finished sixth – meaning it will be Europa League football at Villa Park next season instead.
Martinez has been linked with a switch to Saudi Arabia, while SunSport have also revealed he is a target for former club Arsenal who are eyeing a reunion with the shot-stopper should David Raya leave this summer.
If Martinez is to remain in the Premier League – he will start next season with a three match ban.
Martinez looked as though he waved goodbye to the Villa Park faithful when the Villans played their final home game of the season last weekend.
The goalkeeper was in tears as he walked off the pitch following Villa’s 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
Martinez joined Villa in 2020 following a breakout period of success at Arsenal under Mikel Arteta, coming in for the injured Bernd Leno and helping the Gunners win the FA Cup.
Since his switch to the Midlands, the former Reading and Rotherham loanee has won the Copa America twice, the World Cup and been named Fifa’s Best Keeper in the World two times.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
