Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira says Emiliano Martinez made a ‘stupid decision’ with his behaviour towards Kylian Mbappe.
The Aston Villa goalkeeper has repeatedly taken aim at Mbappé after his Argentina side beat France on penalties after a dramatic 3-3 draw in Sunday’s World Cup final.
Martínez first called for “a moment’s silence” for Mbappé during dressing room celebrations after the game in Qatar, before continuing in the same vein when Argentina returned to Buenos Aires for a victory parade.
There Martínez carried around a doll with Mbappé’s face taped to it, despite standing next to the Frenchman’s team-mate at Paris St-Germain, Lionel Messi.
Martínez – who also caused shock with a lewd gesture with the Golden Glove trophy when he was awarded it after the final – has been heavily criticised, and Noël Le Graët, the president of the French Football Federation, has written a letter to his Argentine counterpart, Claudio Tapia, to complain.
Vieira, who won the World Cup with France in 1998, took aim at the keeper and said he had tainted Argentina’s success.
“When you are talking about the abuse and the comments that he received after the World Cup, I think that is damaging the game and himself,” Vieira said.
“Some of the pictures that I saw from the Argentina goalkeeper took away a little bit from what Argentina achieved at the World Cup. I don’t think that they really needed that.
“You can’t control sometimes people’s emotions or decisions, but that was a stupid decision from Martinez to do that.”
Vieira’s comments came after the French Football Federation made an official complaint over Martínez’s continued taunting Mbappé.
“I wrote to my counterpart from the Argentine Federation,” Le Graët told Ouest-France. “I find these excesses abnormal, in the context of a sports competition, and I find it difficult to understand. This is going too far. Mbappé’s behaviour has been exemplary.”
The French Sports Minister has also suggested they may make a formal complaint over Martínez’s actions.
“I am not ruling out discussing this with my counterpart,” Amélie Oudéa-Castéra told RTL Radio. “I find all of this quite pitiful,” she added.
Martínez emerged as one of the heroes for Argentina, firstly for making a stunning stop in the final moments of extra-time from Randal Kolo Muani, and then for his antics in the penalty shootout.
Martínez saved from Kingsley Coman and then employed a number of intimidatory tactics – including throwing the ball away as he approached the penalty spot – that appeared to lead to Aurélien Tchouaméni shooting wide.
Argentina won the shoot-out 4-2 to win their first World Cup since 1986 and spark wild scenes of joy back in Argentina.
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