Argentina’s soccer association (AFA) said that FIFA suspended goalkeeper Emiliano Martnez for two matches of South American World Cup qualifying in October.
The decision rules out the 32-year-old from official games in the round-robin competition against Venezuela and Bolivia on Oct. 10 and 15.
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AFA said in a statement that FIFA’s disciplinary commission sanctioned Martnez due to incidents in two World Cup qualifying matches against Chile and Colombia earlier this month.
The soccer body did not describe which incidents led to the punishment.
Martnez made an obscene gesture after his team’s 3-0 win against Chile by holding the Copa America trophy close to his genitals, as he did after the South American team lifted the World Cup title in Qatar in the end of 2022.
Later, he slapped a local cameraman after Argentina’s 2-1 defeat against Colombia in Barranquilla.
Argentina’s soccer body said it absolutely disagrees with FIFA’s decision.
Argentina leads South American World Cup qualifying with 18 points after eight games, followed by Colombia (16) and Uruguay (15).
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First Published: Sep 28 2024 | 12:24 PM IST
