Piers Morgan has hit out at Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and Lionel Messi for their “graceless” celebrations after winning the World Cup.
Argentina’s number one was pivotal to his country’s success in the final, alongside the brilliance of Messi. Martinez pulled off an incredible save to deny Randal Kolo Muani in the last few seconds of extra time to send the unforgettable game to penalties.
As Villa fans would have anticipated, Martinez proved to be the hero for Argentina in the shootout. Martinez, 30, saved Kingsley Coman’s effort from the spot before throwing the ball away from Aurelien Tchouameni, who subsequently missed and allowed Argentina to lift the World Cup for a third time.
Following his impressive displays in Qatar, Villa’s number one picked up the Golden Glove award for the best goalkeeper at the tournament. However, it’s fair to say that some of his celebrations post-match have divided opinion, including gesturing with his crotch after picking up his individual award.
In the dressing room after the final whistle, Martinez was captured in a video on social media calling for a minute’s silence for Kylian Mbappe. On Tuesday, as Argentina paraded the trophy in Buenos Aires, Martinez appeared to follow up with a second dig at Mbappe as he was pictured holding a doll with the forward’s face stuck to it , sparking a response from broadcaster Piers Morgan.
“Why is Messi letting Martinez mock & humiliate Mbappe like this?” he tweeted. “They’re teammates at PSG, just so weird & graceless.”
However, Martinez has demonstrated the respect he holds for the French talisman. Amid the Argentina squad celebrating with their fans after the game, the Villa goalkeeper took time to console Mbappe, who became the first player to score a hat-trick in the final since Sir Geoff Hurst in 1966.
