The centrepiece of Argentina and France’s unexpected international rivalry, goalkeeper Emi Martinez has opened up on why things have gone a little too far.
The Aston Villa shot-stopper was one of the stars of the show at the 2022 World Cup, earning his country the title with his penalty shoot-out heroics in the final win over France.
Barbs have continued between the two nations ever since, fuelled by an offensive gesture Martinez made with the Golden Glove after his success and songs that were sung about Kylian Mbappe.
Those songs soon became racist, and when the team’s squad were heard singing along on an Enzo Fernandez social media stream, all hell broke loose.
Fernandez’s Chelsea teammates hit out at him, and when the two nations met again in the quarter-finals of the summer Olympics, France made sure to celebrate their win in the most emphatic way possible.
Reflecting on the rivalry, Martinez said: “Some people talk about arrogance or bad behaviour.
“I don’t care what people say about me. When the Argentinians do something, it’s always horrible… Enzo Fernandez is a lovely guy, he’s been called racist, when he’s not at all.
“I don’t feel any hatred towards France. The French are lovely people. They’re just rivals for us because they’re good. On the other hand, I didn’t like what happened at the Olympics.”
He added: “The French celebrated in front of our noses, kicked us and called us arrogant.
“There was anger in them. The fans pay for their tickets, they can do what they want, but the players crossed the line. There must be respect between professionals.
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