Emiliano Martinez will still be suspended for Aston Villa’s next Europa Conference League match despite escaping a red card on Thursday.
The Argentine took centre stage on Thursday as Unai Emery’s men booked their place in the Europa Conference League semi-final with victory over Ligue 1 outfit, Lille.
He was booked twice but not sent off due to a widely unknown rule, but it is understood that does not save him from a ban.
With the score level at 3-3 on aggregate after extra time, Martinez was tasked with being Villa’s spot kick hero similar to his World Cup final exploits against France in 2022.
His behaviour during and after Argentina’s historic triumph in Qatar did not go down well in France and Lille fans made their feelings known throughout Thursday’s tie.
Martinez was booked in the 39th minute of the game but continued to play the pantomime villain at the hostile Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
The 31-year-old’s antics carried on into the penalty shootout and performed a dance in front of Lille’s Ultras after saving Nabil Bentaleb’s spot kick.
He persisted with his gamesmanship as Villa were preparing to take their next penalty and was subsequently brandished with another yellow card.
IFAB rule 10.3 stipulates that bookings are not carried through to penalty shootouts.
The rule states: “Yellow cards and warnings from the game are not carried forward into penalties but a player who was shown a red card during the game cannot take part”.
Source: talksports