Jonathan Bead
Emiliano Martinez, Argentina’s goalkeeper and winner of the Golden Glove trophy at the World Cup, recreated his controversial celebration alongside his teammates on Thursday.
The celebration, in which Martinez performed a rude gesture with his trophy, was previously criticized by the French Football Federation and former Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira.
Martinez’s Aston Villa manager Unai Emery expressed disapproval of the celebration, and Martinez himself called for a minute’s silence for Kylian Mbappe, a French player who scored a hat-trick during the final.
Martinez engaged in further mockery during Argentina’s victory parade, holding up a doll depicting Mbappe. Mbappe later dismissed the behaviour as “futile”.
Recently, Argentina played against Panama, and Martinez posed alongside his teammates German Pezzella, Guido Rodriguez, Emi Martinez, Geronimo Rulli, and Marcos Acuna.
On Thursday, the Argentina squad was celebrated as returning heroes after winning their match against Panama 2-0, with captain Lionel Messi scoring his 800th top-level goal and his 99th in international competition.
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