The disciplinary committee of the world football governing, FIFA, has suspended Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez from Albiceleste’s next two matches after he was found to have “displayed offensive behavior and violated rinciples of fair play”, Afrosport reports.
The 32-year-old will miss Argentina’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Bolivia in October.
The 2022 World Cup Golden Glove winner was found guilty of violating FIFA’s code of conduct when he mimicked his controversial celebrations from the World Cup in Qatar. He was deemed to have celebrated indecently with a Copa America replica trophy following Argentina’s 3-0 win over Chile on September 6.
The Aston Villa shot-stopper was also sanctioned for hitting a camera with his gloves as a cameraman approached him after Argentina’s 2-1 defeat to Colombia on September 10. The camera operator, John Jackson, later claimed that he was assaulted by the goalkeeper.
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) said it disagreed with the suspension but that Martinez was “responsible” for his actions.
“It should be noted that the Argentine Football Association expresses its absolute disagreement with the decision taken by the FIFA disciplinary committee,”.
Argentina currently tops the South American qualifying table with 18 points after eight matches.
