Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martínez wears provocative cap as he arrives in France | OneFootball

Emiliano Martínez (32) is not the most welcome on French shores. After his antics in the penalty shoot-out at the FIFA World Cup as Argentina beat France, he was heavily booed last season by the Lille OSC fans when Aston Villa faced Les Dogues in European competition.

“[Lille supporters] insulted me the whole match. I’ve never been insulted so much in my whole life. They did everything to me, and I did nothing in return for 120 minutes of the match,” said the Argentine last month, reflecting on that game in Lille. Aston Villa ultimately progressed at LOSC’s expense in that encounter.

The animosity from that World Cup final certainly has not dissipated with the Aston Villa goalkeeper’s behaviour in that shoot-out questioned. Martínez returned to France on Tuesday and added fuel to the fire.

Villa face Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night and as Martínez got off the plane in Paris, he was seen wearing a provocative cap. On it were the three trophies that the former Arsenal man has won with the Argentina national team, as well as a cockerel, a reference to France and that World Cup final back in 2022.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle