Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has spoken for the first time since he escaped a red card despite receiving two yellow cards.
On Thursday night, Villa scored late in the 87th minute courtesy of Matty Cash to take the tie to extra-time against French side Lille after drawing 3-3 on aggregate.
Eventually, the match needed to be decided via a penalty shootout.
After saving Lille’s first penalty, Martinez was shown a yellow card.
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But no red card followed despite him already receiving a yellow card during normal time.
However, the laws of the game state that yellow cards are reset at the start of a penalty shootout, meaning the Villa man was able to stay on the pitch.
Martinez turned out to be the hero as he saved Lille’s fifth penalty to send his side through.
Speaking after the match, Martinez was asked about the incident involving him and his yellow cards.
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He said: “I just got a bad reputation for time wasting because the other goalie was doing exactly the same thing and I get booked after 30 minutes.
“You know, we were losing the game, I don’t know what the ref wants from me.”
Martinez continued: “And then, there was no ball on the penalty spot and I ask for a ball from the ball boy and then I get booked. I just don’t understand the rules.”
Speaking about Villa’s win, Martinez said: “Look, this group of players and the manager is special. The owners are really involved as well. They are always behind us.
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“It feels like we are going to do something special. I don’t know if it’s going to be Champions League, I don’t know if it’s the Conference League but we will try to do everything we can for this football club.”
Martinez went on to post two images of him during the match on his social media account, one picture of him saving a penalty and one of him gesturing to the crowd.
Featured Image Credit: TNT SportsTopics: Emiliano Martinez, Aston Villa, Lille, Europa Conference League, Football
