New penalty rules are set to be enforced in international football after Argentina goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez’s antics during the World Cup final with France in December 2022.
Recall that Martinez had defended his mind games after the final which Argentina won. He said at the time; “It’s a moment that I always have to give to my teammates, they scored three goals against me and it hurt, but then I did everything right. It was a game of suffering, just two efforts against us and they drew level with us. “It is in this moment that I have to give my teammates peace of mind. I could have stopped it [Mbappe’s penalty] too, I dived badly. But then I did everything right. I have no words for it. “I was calm during the penalty shootout and everything went as we wanted. All that I have dreamed of has been achieved. To my family, I came from a very humble place, I left when I was very young to England and I want to dedicate it to them.”
Martinez’s antics also attracted criticism from Arsenal legend, Ian Wright. He alleged that the goalkeeper “crossed the line”. Speaking to Ringer’s FC podcast three days after the final, Wright said; “I look at Emi Martinez, remember the s***housery with Auba [Martinez tried to put off Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang when he stepped up to take a penalty against Aston Villa in October 2021] and all that stuff he was doing at Arsenal. “I was thinking this guy is going to go to another level of s***housery if this final goes to penalties. And he did. I like Emi but what he did in the penalty shootout crossed the line, in respect of sportsmanship. He crossed the line.” Football lawmakers are now set to ban goalkeepers from distracting penalty-takers. According to The Sun, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) is set to introduce new rules to ban keepers from acting in a way that puts off opponents from the spot.
IFAB’s new rules may also stop goalkeepers from dancing or making amusing gestures on the goal line as that is also seen as a distraction. The new penalty rules will be ratified at IFAB’s annual general meeting in March before they are officially introduced into the laws of the game.