Emiliano Martinez’s stock has risen in the past few years. First, it was a shrewd move from Arsenal to Aston Villa, where consistent performances earned him the number-one spot in the team. This saw him become one of the first names on the team sheet for his country, eventually becoming a World Champion with Argentina last December.
Despite being a world champion, Emiliano Martinez remains a largely controversial figure. In another high-profile outing against Brazil in the World Cup qualifiers last night, Emiliano Martinez was pictured attempting to hit a police officer as both sets of fans were involved in a bloodied brawl as Argentina won the game 1-0.
Watch: Emiliano Martinez tried to hit a police officer
Emiliano Martinez has long established himself as a goalkeeper with a few tricks up his sleeve. Whether it’s trying to distract an opposition player when taking a penalty kick or an absurd celebration that clearly angers the opposition and its fans, Martinez has shown that he is not the one to shy away from a confrontation.
The Argentine goalkeeper was at it again as a brawl broke out between fans of Brazil and Argentina in a World Cup qualifier last night. Police tried to calm the crowd, but Argentine players felt the away fans were being overly mistreated by the law enforcers, which subsequently forced them into action.
In one such situation, Martinez can be seen trying to hit a police officer as he walks towards them from the crowd. He gets held back by some of his teammates, but he keeps trying to force his way through the barricade between them.
The Aston Villa goalkeeper returned to keeping clean sheets again for his country after conceding his first goal in international football since the 2022 World Cup. Uruguay beat Argentina 2-0 in their last qualifier to cause an upset, but the World Champions returned to winning ways against Brazil as they recorded a 1-0 win.
Crowd violence broke out at Argentina vs Brazil WC Qualifier
Brazil vs Argentina has always been one of the fiercest games in international football; after all, these are the two biggest footballing nations in the world. According to Statista, the two sides have won eight World Cups between them, with Brazil winning five and Argentina winning three, with the latest one coming in 2022.
Brazil’s stock has declined in recent years, with the country failing on the international stage, which may have contributed to the bad blood between the two teams when they clashed in the World Cup qualifiers last night.
The two sets of fans went at each other, causing an uproar in the stadium and eclipsing the incredible match. Police tried calming the situation but only ended up aggravating it, with players eventually getting involved.
Despite Marquinhos’ plans to limit Lionel Messi’s impact, Argentina still managed to score through Nicolas Otamendi, which proved enough to be the winner.
Will FIFA charge Emiliano Martinez for attempting to hit a police officer?
