‘Anti-Emi Martinez’ rule set to be introduced after Argentina goalkeeper’s World Cup antics | OneFootball

Emiliano Martinez was one of the stars of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

It’s not an exaggeration to suggest that Argentina probably wouldn’t have won the tournament without the Aston Villa goalkeeper.

Martinez’s crucial stop against France forward Randal Kolo Muani in the dying second of the World Cup final kept Argentina in the contest and forced a penalty shootout.

Once the final went to penalties, Argentina always had the advantage - thanks to their charismatic ‘keeper.

As expected, Martinez made life extremely difficult for France’s penalty takers, doing all he could to put off his opponents.

The situation was already pressurised enough for the penalty takers without Martinez, who was eventually booked by referee Szymon Marciniak for his behaviour in the shootout.

The 30-year-old threw balls away, tried to psych out France’s penalty takers with comments including “I’ve watched you!”, and celebrated wildly each time he made a save.

Football psychologist Geir Jordet produced a detailed Twitter thread on Martinez’s antics during the World Cup final penalty shootout, concluding: “Emi Martinez’s mind games are big, unpredictable & calculated. He is the Machiavelli of football and has stimulated others to copy him & to create counter moves against him.

“With this display at the world's biggest stage, I'm curious to see how this will evolve going forward.”

Similar tactics also worked for Martinez during the quarter-finals against the Netherlands and during the 2021 Copa America semi-finals against Colombia.

What is the 'anti-Emi Martinez' rule?

However, Spanish newspaper Marca are reporting that a new ‘anti-Emi Martinez’ rule will soon come into force.

This new rule will ensure that goalkeepers can’t distract penalty takers by deliberately delaying the penalty, or touching the goalposts, the crossbar or the goal net.

It’s understood that the law - one of several new rules set to be introduced - will come into force from the start of the 2023-24 season.

What other rules are being introduced?

Marca add that goals will no longer be automatically disallowed if substitutes creep onto the pitch - provided they are not involved in the goal and the situation does not justify disallowing the goal.

However, players who enter the field of play without permission can be cautioned.

Meanwhile, goal celebrations will become part of added time - something that has regularly been ignored until now.

There are also some changes being made to the offside rule.

Football matches may no longer be 90 minutes

But even bigger rule changes could be introduced in the not-too-distant future.

An IFAB meeting takes place in London next weekend and Marca say it will be ‘no surprise’ if football matches will no longer be 90 minutes long.

The idea of football being played with a stopped clock, meaning no room for time-wasting, is an option that’s on the table.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino regards time-wasting as a blight on modern football and radical plans are being considered in an attempt to combat the problem.

Watch this space.