Dibu Martinez explains his controversial Golden Glove celebration
The Qatar 2022 in Qatar came to an end with Argentina winning on penalties and, once again, Emiliano Martinez was at the heart of the action.
He made great saves and had a penalty shootout to remember, which ended up with him being crowned as the best goalkeeper of the tournament.
The prize in question is the Golden Glove and the trophy is exactly that, a large golden glove.
It was received by the goalkeeper at the award ceremony, and he celebrated by holding it to his groin area.
This is something that has raised many opinions of all kinds, and above all a lot of criticism.
Why did Dibu Martinez celebrate in that way?
Once again, the tension in the penalty shootout took hold of everyone. Fans and players.
At the end of the match, the goalkeeper gave the reason for his gesture in the Argentinean media La Red.
“I did it because the French were booing me, pride doesn’t go with me,” he said.
“I dedicate the title to my family. I come from a very humble place.
“I went to England very young. I want to dedicate it to them.”
Sportsmanship above all
But if there is one thing that marks Martinez, it is his sportsmanship. One of the post-match images is of the goalkeeper consoling a completely broken Kylian Mbappe in the presence of French president Emmanuel Macron.
The match ended 3-3 after extra time with Mbappe scoring a hat-trick for the French, whilst Lionel Messi scored twice for Argentina after Angel Di Maria opened the scoring for the Albiceleste.
The penalty shootout then went in Lionel Scaloni‘s side’s favour, with Gonzalo Montiel scoring the winning penalty to spark wild celebrations for both Argentina fans and Messi fans all over the world.
The larger than life Martinez was at the very heart of those celebrations.
Source: Marca
