Chaos as Emi Martinez receives second yellow in Aston Villa penalty shoot out but escapes red due to little-known rule
EMILIANO MARTINEZ was SENT-OFF in Aston Villa’s gripping penalty shootout against Lille… but still escaped an early bath and ended up as the hero.
The World Cup-winning goalkeeper was booked during the tense Conference League quarter-final showdown.
Emi Martinez silences the Lille fans by saving the first penalty
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Then looks to get a second yellow from the referee?!
But doesn't get sent off#UECL
@TNTSports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/qU76fw9AGs
And he was shown another early in the shootout for goading fans after saving Lille’s first penalty courtesy of ex-Tottenham star Nabil Bentaleb.
Martinez turned to the French fans and hit them with a ‘shush’ signal.
The referee brandished the red, leaving fans to wonder what happened next with no goalkeeper for the spot-kick showdown.
But the match official quickly withdrew the red, leaving fans baffled.
It turns out there’s a very good reason Martinez did not head down the tunnel.
That’s because of a little-known rule that states yellow cards are WIPED OUT between the end of extra-time and penalties.
But that didn’t stop fans from being baffled, with one taking to X to say: “I need an explanation, Martinez has just been sent off for a second bookable offence in a penalty shootout then waved away and continues.
Another wrote: “Martinez got sent off then not sent off is that what happened?”
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A third added: “He already got a yellow but is allowed to keep on playing??”
Martinez would go on to save the crucial penalty with Villa leading 4-3.
Benjamin Andre had to score, but the Argentine parried it away.
The ex-Arsenal man quickly turned to face the Lille fans to continue what fans called his “s***housery”.
But the ref again intervened, checking Martinez was glued to his line when Andre struck the ball.
After a quick VAR check, Martinez was deemed to have been a good boy on this occasion and Villa marched on to the semi-finals in dramatic manner.
Leading 2-1 from the first leg at Villa Park, the Premier League side were stunned as Lille went 1-0 up to level the tie after just 15 minutes.
And with just 15 minutes to play, they went 2-0 up to move to the brink of a Conference League semi-final spot.
But Matty Cash scored with less than five minutes to play to take the game to extra-time and, ultimately, penalties.
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