Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez avoided an embarrassing dismissal on penalties due to a little-known rule.
The Argentine, who made headlines during the penalty shootout at the World Cup, was booked for time wasting during the first half of Villa’s Europa Conference League clash against Lille and was was again booked during the penalty shootout, but remained on the field.
Unai Emery’s side lost 2-1 on the night, but with an aggregate score of 3-3 at the end of the second leg, extra time and penalties were required.
Martinez played some quick mind games and was booked for his antics before stepping up to save a Nabil Bentaleb penalty and then silencing the crowd.
Moments later he waved to the home crowd as he rejoiced in his save and received another warning from referee Ivan Kruzliak.
Even though it was his second yellow of the match, the former Arsenal player still managed to avoid a sending off.
As per IFAB rules, yellow cards during normal time are not applied to penalties, much to Martinez’s relief.
The Villa goalkeeper then saved a second Benjamin Andre penalty to send Villa through to the semi-finals of the competition.
Although VAR checked that he remained on his line, he turned towards the home fans behind the goal and danced quickly.
He then ran off to celebrate with his teammates as they overcame their defeat in normal times to win in dramatic circumstances.
Yusuf Yazici opened the scoring for Lille before André headed in the second goal to give the Ligue 1 side hopes of reaching the semi-finals.
However, Matty Cash saw his deflected effort fire into the back of the net in the 87th minute to give Villa a huge lifeline.
Martinez then became the shootout hero in a 4-3 penalty shootout victory, a victory that did not escape drama.
Villa will face either Fenerbahce or Olympiacos in the last four, with just three games separating them from European glory.
Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez avoided an embarrassing dismissal on penalties due to a little-known rule.
The Argentine, who made headlines during the penalty shootout at the World Cup, was booked for time wasting during the first half of Villa’s Europa Conference League clash against Lille and was was again booked during the penalty shootout, but remained on the field.
Unai Emery’s side lost 2-1 on the night, but with an aggregate score of 3-3 at the end of the second leg, extra time and penalties were required.
Martinez played some quick mind games and was booked for his antics before stepping up to save a Nabil Bentaleb penalty and then silencing the crowd.
Moments later he waved to the home crowd as he rejoiced in his save and received another warning from referee Ivan Kruzliak.
Even though it was his second yellow of the match, the former Arsenal player still managed to avoid a sending off.
As per IFAB rules, yellow cards during normal time are not applied to penalties, much to Martinez’s relief.
The Villa goalkeeper then saved a second Benjamin Andre penalty to send Villa through to the semi-finals of the competition.
Although VAR checked that he remained on his line, he turned towards the home fans behind the goal and danced quickly.
He then ran off to celebrate with his teammates as they overcame their defeat in normal times to win in dramatic circumstances.
Yusuf Yazici opened the scoring for Lille before André headed in the second goal to give the Ligue 1 side hopes of reaching the semi-finals.
However, Matty Cash saw his deflected effort fire into the back of the net in the 87th minute to give Villa a huge lifeline.
Martinez then became the shootout hero in a 4-3 penalty shootout victory, a victory that did not escape drama.
Villa will face either Fenerbahce or Olympiacos in the last four, with just three games separating them from European glory.