The Colombian Association of Sports Journalists have called for Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martínez to be sanctioned by FIFA after he pushed a cameraman away following Argentina’s defeat to Colombia last night.
El Universal cover the official request from the group today following the incident, which quickly went viral and caused fury in Colombia.
The newspaper explains that the Aston Villa star is being criticised after the ‘controversial actions’ at the end of the game on Tuesday evening.
The defeat was Argentina’s first in almost a year and Martínez was left visibly frustrated at the end of the game, hitting out at a cameraman who had filmed him speaking to Aston Villa teammate Jhon Jader Durán.
He was labelled a sore loser by those who saw the incident, which was quickly posted online and naturally garnered anger from Colombia fans.
“ACORD strongly rejects the act of aggression by Emiliano Martínez, goalkeeper of the Argentine team towards a cameraman at the end of the qualifying match in Barranquilla,” their statement reads.
“Slapping the cameraman’s hand to throw the elements onto the grass is an attack on freedom of expression that our union does not admit.
“Colombia is a country in which the freedom to inform is respected, in this way we ask the Colombian Football Federation to speak out before Conmebol, the AFA and FIFA. As the country’s journalistic authority, it demands that FIFA generate an exemplary sanction against Mr. Emiliano Martínez, who is not an example for the new generations.”
The question is whether FIFA will listen to the call, with neither they nor the Argentinian FA having yet responded to the incident.
Given sanctions handed down to other players for incidents in recent months, it would be unsurprising if a sanction is on the way at some point.
This call from ACORD seems petty at best, though, presumably aimed at just stirring up even more tension in an already heated rivalry between the two nations.
