"This is going too far" - France FA lodge complaint against Emi Martinez for mercilessly taunting Kylian Mbappe
France FA have lodged a formal complaint against Argentina keeper Emiliano Martinez for mercilessly taunting Kylian Mbappe.
Aston Villa custodian Emiliano Martinez played a key role for Argentina to lead them towards the 2022 FIFA World Cup trophy.
He made several important saves throughout the tournament and also won his side two penalty shootsuts including in the final against France.
However, the Argentine shot-stopper has laned himself in hot water with the France FA lodging a complaint against him for his antics.
Since firing Argentina to their third World Cup triumph after a long wait of 36 years, Emi Martinez has been seen trolling Kylian Mbappe a number of times.
He was seen holding a toy baby with the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward's face taped to the front during Argentina's celebrations.
The former Arsenal keeper was also filmed taunting Kylian Mbappe during Argentina's dressing room celebrations after the penalty shoot-out success.
Emi Martinez jokingly called for a minute's silence on the Frenchman's behalf and his behavior has not gone unnoticed.
This apparent need from Emi Martinez in particular to denigrate Mbappe and France is, frankly, pathetic and ugly. It was the greatest final. Both teams played their part, and Argentina won. Celebrate that. Mocking Mbappe shows zero class.
France FA president FA Noel Le Graet has told Ouest-France that he has reached out to his Argentine counterpart Claudio Tapia and has lodged a formal complaint. He said, as quoted by The Mirror:
"I wrote to my counterpart from the Argentine Federation, I find these excesses abnormal, in the context of a sports competition, and I find it difficult to understand. This is going too far. Mbappé's behavior has been exemplary."
The situation between Mbappe and Martinez has not been ideal for a long time now, with tensions rising between the two much before the FIFA World Cup.
Kylian Mbappe claimed that European teams come into tournaments like the World Cup better prepared than their South American counterparts. Martinez slammed the PSG superstar after his comments. He stated:
"He doesn't know enough about football. He never played in South America.
"When you don’t have this experience, it may be better not to talk about it. But it doesn't matter. We are a great team, recognised as such."
FIFA World Cup winner slams Emi Martinez for taunting Kylian Mbappe
Adil Rami, who was a part of the France side that won the FIFA World Cup in 2018, has slammed Emi Martinez for taunting Kylian Mbappe.
Rami, who now plies his trade for Troyes in Ligue 1, posted an image of Martinez on his Instagram story with the caption (as translated from French):
"The biggest son of a (…) in football. The most hated man.”
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
Martinez picked up the Golden Glove for his performances at the FIFA World Cup, keeping three clean sheets in seven appearances.
However, Rami insisted that Morocco's Yassine Bounou deserved the award more. He also claimed that Argentina are celebrating beating Kylian Mbappe more than winning the FIFA World Cup.