The news was a real blow, something that fell like a new bucket of cold water for an Argentine National Team that has been heavily targeted in recent times for its behavior off the field of play. It happened at the time with the aforementioned case of Enzo Fernández, and now it occurs with the Draw Martínez.
At this time, the AFA confirmed the worst news that could happen: FIFA enforced its sanction on the Draw by “offensive behavior and violation of the principles of fair play” in the matches that the National Team played against Chile and Colombia, leaving the team’s star goalkeeper sidelined from the next two matches on the calendar.
With this sanction, Martinez He will miss the next two matches corresponding to the South American Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. We are talking about the matches against Venezuela and Bolivia, on October 10 and 15 respectively (the first away in Maturín and the second at home in the Monumental).
What are the incidents for which the goalkeeper was penalized? The first was against Chile, when after the victory he took advantage of the presence of the Argentine public on the River field to celebrate the last Copa América won and, as part of his celebration, he placed the trophy in his pelvis. This was quite particular, because it is something that he had already done when the team won the continental cup in 2021 and he also did it when he won the golden glove at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
THE CONTROVERSIAL MEASURE THAT FIFA TOOK AGAINST DIBU MARTÍNEZ
The second event was the most controversial, since it occurred after the defeat against Colombia in Argentina’s last presentation in the Qualifiers. After losing the game, the Draw He slapped the official broadcast camera crew hotly, which led to a series of criticisms on social media.
In this way, FIFA decided to execute article 13 of the disciplinary code, charging against Martinez for the behavior he had in both games. Likewise, the AFA, in addition to sharing the statement with the official sanction, also expressed its absolute disagreement with the measures taken.
