‘The boy needs to see a psychiatrist’ – Emmanuel Petit hits out at Emiliano Martínez | OneFootball

Emmanuel Petit hit out at Emiliano Martínez (32) ahead of Paris Saint-Germain’s victory over Aston Villa on Wednesday, after the Argentine goalkeeper went about provoking his status as public enemy number one in France.

Martínez has a storied relationship with France following his antics in the penalty shootout as Argentina beat Les Bleus in the 2022 World Cup final. He was provided a villain’s welcome when he helped Aston Villa eliminate Lille OSC in last season’s Europa League quarter-final.

Following the match, Martínez stated, “[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.”

Neither side is willing to let past unpleasantness be water under the bridge, and Martínez arrived in France on Tuesday sporting a cap commemorating Argentina’s international victories, including their defeat of France. He also had a fresh haircut with his nation’s kit colours dyed into a strip of his hair.

Emmanuel Petit: “I blame Emiliano Martínez for going too far“

It was a provocative display, and one that drew criticism from former France and Arsenal midfielder Petit, who told Rothen s’enflamme. “I blame Martínez for going too far. Enough is enough. I’m the first to accept that teasing is part of football and life in general, but it shouldn’t constantly descend into denigration, it shouldn’t be disrespectful, it shouldn’t descend into harassment.”

He continued, “We have the impression that in every match, we expect something out of bounds from him… I think he’s a very good goalkeeper, and he doesn’t need to give himself extreme motivation. But everywhere he goes, he leaves an exasperating image of his behaviour.”

“He recently said in an interview that he never goes too far… The boy needs to undergo psychotherapy, to see a psychiatrist, because we don’t have the same definition of what is out of bounds. This guy, frankly, needs to learn to control himself emotionally,” Petit lamented.

GFFN | Nick Hartland