New hat and dye from Aston Villa's Martínez prove too much for Emmanual Petit | OneFootball

The relationship between Emiliano Martínez and France is not going to get better any time soon. The Aston Villa number one dyed a small area of his hair blue and otherwise acted like his normal self, and that proved to be too much for some.

Notably, Emmanuel Petit had a lot to say on the keeper. According to the former French international, the need to "undergo psychotherapy" is a necessity for Martínez, as shared by Get Football News France. For anyone who is only recently paying attention to the Villa goalie, his confidence and outward personality are disingenuously interpreted in the worst way possible. For people like Petit, a sacred line of decency is apparently crossed that demands immediate and total condemnation.

High-charged emotions and reactions are part of why people tune in to the Champions League and World Cup. The fixtures are very much personal. Anyone being overcritical of Martínez isn't seeing the unfolding of events from a player's perspective. While fans are upset and feel invested in their team's success, imagine being one of the eleven on the pitch.

It is the players who train, spend hours rehabbing, and then shoulder all the blame when things don't go well. So when Martínez ends up playing a major role and an even more emotionally charged shootout out on the biggest stage, he's earned the right to allow his resulting celebrations to toe the line in terms of what would otherwise be frowned upon in polite society.

This isn't an everyday occupation. For all of the glamour of playing in the World Cup and Champions League, there are also a lot of enduring elements for all players to endure. Giving someone, particularly at a position that typically receives a disproportionate share of the blame without the praise levels of his attacking teammates, some leeway should be a universal given.

Continued increasing gap between France and Aston Villa GK

Instead, the likes of Petit and French crowds overdo it in their criticisms of the Villa keeper and escalate further. Martínez feeding into it and embracing the villain role is now the result. Make no mistake, the Argentinian would conduct himself the same way with his unabashed confidence either way. To achieve a certain level in sports, this is often needed.

Instead of crying foul or asking for a psych evaluation, embrace the ongoing rift and rivalry between one nation and a single man. After all, through PSG's constant jeers, it is they who now find themselves ahead after the first leg. If a miracle happens, though, and a certain someone ends up playing a large part, those same voices can't claim ignorance or shock when the Aston Villa man finds a new way to jab at the French supporters.