Argentina GK Emi Martinez facing an awkward reunion on Sunday after mocking Kylian Mbappe in World Cup celebrations
Emi Martinez, one of Argentina's heroes at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, mocked Kylian Mbappe after the final. Martinez saved Kingsley Coman's effort in the penalty shootout against Hugo Lloris' France in the final of the tournament.
The Aston Villa shot-stopper took swipes at Mbappe on multiple occasions after the defeat. He is now set to return to action in the Premier League against Tottenham Hotspur and face Lloris.
The custodian is already back in England and will rejoin training on Thursday. Unai Emery's side will take on Spurs on New Year's Day.
Martinez's actions caught Unai Emery's attention as well. The Aston Villa manager reacted to his goalkeeper's mockery of Kylian Mbappe, saying (via Mirror):
"When you have big emotions, it is sometimes difficult to control them. I will speak with him (Martinez) next week about some celebrations, but I respect that he is now with his national team. When he's with us, under our responsibility, we can speak about it."
This honestly makes me laugh, if you were to show this image to a causal football fan that didn’t watch the final, you’d think Emi Martínez had Kylian in his pocket all game. The truth is, Mbappé made this guy pick the ball out of the back of the net 4 times.
Actual obsession. https://t.co/oq2z0h7cYQ
Mbappe had a stellar game against France. He scored a hat-trick in the World Cup final and became the first player to do so since Sir Geoff Hurst in 1966.
He also slotted past Emi Martinez in the shootout. Despite the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward's heroics, France ended up on the losing side.
Patrick Vieira labeled Emi Martinez's reactions to Kylian Mbappe as 'stupid'
Patrick Vieira was not happy with Emi Martinez's trolling of Kylian Mbappe. The Crystal Palace manager recently said (via Mirror):
“When you are talking about the abuse and the comments that he [Mbappe] received after the World Cup, I think that is damaging the game and himself, Some of the pictures that I saw from the Argentina goalkeeper took away a little bit from what Argentina achieved at the World Cup."
He continued:
"I don’t think that they really needed that. You can’t control sometimes people’s emotions or decisions, but that was a stupid decision from Martinez to do that.”
🏽
Nous reviendrons. 🇫🇷🙏🏽 https://t.co/Ni2WhO6Tgd
Fans abused Mbappe inside the Lusail Stadium as well after France's defeat. Vieira added on the incident:
"I was really disappointed because I heard the same songs as you, “I want to have a picture of the Argentina fans with the passion and the love they showed during those games. Of course, they won the World Cup, but in the stands, they were the best as well."