Emi Martinez slapped with ban by UEFA despite avoiding Aston Villa red card vs Lille

Aston Villa hero Emiliano Martinez caused chaos in his side’s penalty shootout win in Lille.

Emiliano Martinez will miss the first leg of Aston Villa’s Europa Conference League semi-final with Olympiacos after his controversial penalty shootout antics in Lille last night (Thursday). The Argentine goalkeeper finished the night as the Villa hero, not only making a string of saves during the 120 minutes as the hosts beat the Premier League side 2-1 to force penalties, but then saving twice from the spot to send his side through.

That was only after confusion as to whether the 26-year-old should have been sent off before the shootout concluded. Martinez had already been booked in the 39th minute, and was then cautioned again during the spot-kicks for gamesmanship after keeping out Nabil Bentaleb’s opening penalty.

He celebrated that moment by putting his finger to his mouth and goading Lille supporters. And despite his second yellow, he remained in goal – and ultimately settled matters when he saved again from Benjamin Andre before running the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the away fans.

It led to viewers questioning why the 2022 World Cup winner had not been sent off for his two yellow cards, but he escaped red due to a little known ruling. In terms of disciplinary procedures, penalty shootouts are treated as a separate entity to the games themselves, meaning yellow cards for players are wiped when the final whistle goes.

IFAB rule 10.3 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. Players, substitutes, substituted players and team officials can get a red or yellow card during penalties.”

And Villa have since confirmed that Martinez did officially rack up two competition yellow cards last night, adding to the caution he received in the first leg in Birmingham. Players who pick up three Europa Conference League bookings receive a one-game suspension, meaning he’ll miss the home game with the Greek club on May 2.

And afterwards, the player himself argued his sanction during the shootout derived from confusion over the rules, and not his goading of the Lille crowd. “I get booked after 30 minutes and we’re losing the game so I don’t know what the referee wanted for me,” he said.

“In the shoot-out, there was no ball on the penalty spot and I was asking for a ball from the ball boy – and then I get booked. I just don’t understand the rules.”

In the absence of Martinez, back-up keeper Robin Olsen is set to deputise at Villa Park. The Swedish international has played just six times for the club in the 2023/24 campaign, three of which have come in the earlier stages of the Conference League.