Aston Villa star Emiliano Martinez ‘in trouble’ as ex-Fifa official ‘amazed’ by new row
Aston Villa goalkeeper could be “in trouble” for his comments about the referee after Argentina’s penalty shootout victory over the Netherlands in the World Cup quarter-finals on Friday (9 December), according to Keith Hackett.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Fifa and Premier League official admitted referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz put in “easily the worst performance of the tournament”.
Martinez told beINSPORTS after the game that the referee was “giving everything” to the Netherlands and wanted them to score.
The 30-year-old claimed Lopez was “useless” and he hopes Argentina do not have him again.
“I think he let Argentina get on top of him,” Hackett told Football Insider‘s Connor Whitley.
“With almost every decision they were chatting to him. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got Lionel Messi in front of you, he’s a player.
“He didn’t look even-handed and for me, it was so disappointing.
“Let’s be clear, he’s a human being and he’ll be suffering because his reputation as a first-class referee is now shot to pieces.
“Martinez will be in trouble. The authorities might have a bit of sympathy for the situation.
“What amazed me was, let’s look at what he could have done. He could have slowed proceedings down and ensured that players understood that he was in control.
“What that means is, you give a free-kick and march the 9.15metres, and when the game starts to get away from you, you bring in the free-kicks quickly and consistently penalise everything.
“If that fails to work, you bring the captains together and say ‘This is damaging and tarnishing the image of the game, I want an improvement in your player’s behaviour.
“Because it was happening in the first half, he could have called the match delegate into his dressing room and said he was unhappy with the demeanour and attitude of both teams. That Fifa official could then go into both dressing rooms and issue a public warning.
“It was out of control, he lost it and it was easily the worst referee performance of the tournament.”
In other news, an insider has claimed that Diego Carlos could return for Aston Villa within weeks after a new reveal.