‘Even Lionel Messi told me…’: Emiliano Martinez defends controversial Golden Glove celebration at FIFA World Cup final

Argentina reigned supreme in Qatar, winning the FIFA World Cup 2022 trophy and goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was one of the deciding factors for the CONMEBOL side. The Aston Villa player was pivotal in the final vs France, including a match-winning save in the last minute of extra-time to deny Randal Kolo Muani. Then the 30-year-old followed it up with two stunning saves in the penalty shootout as Argentina emerged victorious in the World Cup final for the third time in their history.

During the awards ceremony, Martinez received the Golden Glove, and it was his celebration with the trophy which created plenty of controversy. After receiving the award, he held it to his ground area in celebration and much to the amusement of everyone. It was a repeat of his celebration in Copa America 2021, after receiving the best goalkeeper award. During Argentina’s celebrations in the dressing room, Martinez was also recorded calling for ‘minute of silence’ for Kylian Mbappe and continued on with the taunts during the trophy parade in his country.

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Explaining his celebration with the Golden Glove award, the goalkeeper revealed that even Messi had advised him against repeating the gesture. “Do I regret the celebrations? Well, there are things I wouldn’t do again in the same way, I didn’t set out to hurt anyone. Throughout my career, I’ve played with French people and I’ve never had a problem… You can ask Giroud what kind of person I am. I really like French culture and mentality”, he said.

“The gesture I made with the best goalkeeper trophy was a joke with my team-mates. I had already done it at the Copa America, and they all said to me: ‘No way’ to do it again. Even Leo told me that. I did it for them, nothing more. It lasted a second and that was it”, he further added. The goalkeeper could also face punishment for his gesture with FIFA launching an investigation into the Argentine celebrations after they beat France on penalties to win the World Cup final.