Even after a week since Argentina’s victory over France in the 2022 World Cup final, the animosity between the players of both camps has not subsided. And the man at the centre of it all has been Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, whose post-victory antics have put him squarely in the crosshairs.
While other footballers have criticised Martinez for his constant mockery of France’s Kylian Mbappe, his Argentina teammates have rushed to his defence. A spat recently erupted between Adil Rami, the 2018 World Cup winner, and Argentina’s Angel Di Maria.
The former had stated in an Instagram story, “The biggest son of a (b****) in football. The most hated man,” according to The Daily Mail. To this, Di Maria responded by saying, “El Dibu (Martinez) is the best goalkeeper in the world. Go cry elsewhere.” Rami hit back on Twitter where he posted “Can you teach me?” showing four pictures of Di Maria crying with the captions, “When you lose”, “when you win”, “when you leave a club”, and “when you see this tweet”.
Martinez’s teammates Leandro Paredes and German Pezzella would be more supportive, with Paredes saying: “Now say it without crying Rami”. Pezzella added, “Get out of here,” referring to captain Lionel Messi’s words to Netherlands’ Wout Weghorst following the two teams’ quarterfinal match.
Are there really people who find something like that funny?: Graeme Souness
Martinez’s gesture after receiving the Golden Glove trophy was criticised a few days ago by Scottish player Graeme Souness. During the post-match celebrations, the Argentine goalkeeper placed the trophy, a massive gold hand, to his groin before waving it up above his head.
“I can accept those antics, up to a point. But what we should be talking more about is the rude gesture he made after collecting his trophy for best goalkeeper of the tournament. Are there really people who find something like that funny? Martinez embarrassed himself and embarrassed his country. He looked like a vulgar clown. If that’s what he wants to be remembered for, god help us all,” he said.
