Emiliano Martinez is an ‘idiot’ claims Ian Ladyman on It’s All Kicking Off… insisting the Aston Villa goalkeeper ‘EMBARRASSED himself’ with his antics against Brentford

Ian Ladyman has questioned why Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez continues to behave like an ‘idiot’ after he clashed with Neal Maupay during his side’s 2-1 victory against Brentford on Sunday.

Tempers flared at the GTech Community stadium, with referee David Coote booking eleven players before handing red cards to both Ben Mee and Boubacar Kamara and Ollie Watkins scoring late for Aston Villa to see Unai Emery‘s side extend their unbeaten run to nine games on the bounce. 

Martinez was embroiled in the late drama after he appeared to barge into Maupay before theatrically falling to the ground. Moments later he was seen pushing the Frenchman to the floor, with the Argentine trying to pull the forward back to his feet by his shirt. 

The incident sparked a melee on the field that saw Kamara receive a red card after he appeared to push Yegor Yarmolyuk and made contact with his face. 

Speaking on the latest episode of It’s All Kicking Off, Mail Sport’s Ladyman and Mike Keegan reflected on the Argentine goalkeeper’s antics at the 2022 World Cup and the lewd gesture he made with the Golden Glove trophy after his side were crowned champions.   

It came after the goalkeeper clashed with Neal Maupay during Aston Villa’s 2-1 victory 

Speaking on It’s All Kicking off, Ladyman added that Martinez risks being remembered for the wrong reasons after his antics at the World Cup last year

‘Now, in that game yesterday at Brentford, there were 10 yellow cards from the 72nd minute onwards,’ Ladyman said on Sunday’s game.

‘Handbags is probably how you would describe most of it. 

‘However, the Emiliano Martinez charade, well, two charades, on the 12-month anniversary of him behaving like an idiot in the World Cup final shootout in Qatar. That did leave a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. 

‘I don’t like Martinez at all. And he embarrassed himself yesterday. He embarrassed himself yesterday.’ 

Talking through the on field incident, Keegan replied: ‘It’s the transparency and the hypocritical nature of it. So it all starts when there’s the ridiculous back pass that nearly goes in [Villa’s goal].

‘There’s a bit of light contact with the Brentford player [Maupay]. Who probably thinks what we think of him, given that he’s dropped his shoulder on him a little bit.’

‘I was going to say, it was was Neil Maupay did put his shoulder in,’ Ladyman added. ‘But when you watch it again, Martinez also makes a move to stand in his path, so he knows what he’s doing. 

Speaking of the moment Martinez dropped to the ground inside his own penalty area, Keegan said: ‘And then he goes absolutely flying, like the world’s ended. And then, minutes later, the tables are turned.

‘And then he’s the one, obviously has a massive kickoff at Maupay’s rolling about. 

‘And then he’s the one that’s having a go at a Brentford player for rolling about after he’s banged into me.

‘It’s like, come on, like literally seconds ago, you were doing the same thing. He’s [Martinez] is one of those, if you’re a Villa fan, I think you love him. 

‘And all of us who aren’t Villa fans don’t like him and it’s hard to forget the stuff like that,’ he added in reference to his antics following the World Cup final. 

After the incident, a mele broke out on the pitch, with Martinez at the centre of the brawl

The spat saw Aston Villa’s Boubacar Kamara sent off after he pushed Yegor Yarmolyuk

‘That’s a World Cup final when you’re behaving like that, these people [France] are losing a World Cup final – have a bit of class.’

The World Cup winner is a notoriously colourful character and stole the limelight after Argentina beat France in the World Cup final last year with a controversial celebration that landed him in hot water.

Martinez, who saved a penalty in the shootout, won the Golden Glove award as the tournament’s best goalkeeper but as he was presented with his trophy and made a lewd gesture with the award.

FIFA subsequently opened an investigation against the Argentine’s actions for a violation of their rules on offensive behaviour and fair play under article 11 of their Disciplinary Code.

In his column for Mail Sport, Graeme Souness calling the goalkeeper a ‘clown’ while concurring with Ladyman and Keegan that he had ’embarrassed himself and Argentina’. 

Unai Emery also spoke out on on the matter, claiming he would be talking to the 31-year-old, adding: ‘we have to have values and we have to focus on behaviour when we are together.’

But Ladyman admitted he feels Martinez will now be remembered for his gesture and not for the fantastic save he produced to deny Randal Kolo Muani a winner late on in the World Cup final.  

‘I think he’s an idiot, if I’m honest,’ Ladyman said on Martinez. ‘I’ll upset people by saying that. But I thought he was an idiot. 

‘I thought he was an idiot for what he did at the World Cup final. And the fact that he hasn’t, he’s kind of almost worn that as a badge of honour, which is pathetic.

‘Because he should be remembered for making one of the best saves I’ve ever seen in a game of that magnitude. France would have won that game had Martinez not made a brilliant save late in extra time.

‘He should be remembered for that. He should be remembered for his penalty saves. He’s not. He’s remembered for behaving like a moron. 

‘And he continues to do it. He’s a very, very good goalkeeper. But he’s a bit of an idiot. You shouldn’t excuse Maupay. Maupay did barge into him. That was stupid also. But the problem with Martinez is he’s got to track record for it.

Martinez was criticised by some after he made a lewd pose with the Golden Glove trophy

The goalkeeper helped prevent France from securing a late win, stopping a shot from Randal Kolo Muani in the dying embers of the match

‘So he’s the one that people like us end up talking about. And the one thing I thought was telling was while he was lying on the ground after the Maupay barge, as though he’d been shot down by a hail of bullets. 

‘One of his own teammates is actually standing over him, holding his hand down as if to say, come on, mate, get up. Let’s get on with it. Let’s see this game out.’

Despite the frosty end to the match, Villa  moved to third in the league table, level on 38 points with Liverpool  and take on Sheffield United on Friday night at Villa Park.

They face a run of three games in eight days, with a trip to Old Trafford coming on Boxing Day, before they play Burnley on December 30.