Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez narrowly escaped a red card during his team’s match against Lille on Thursday, thanks to a lesser-known rule that resets yellow card counts before penalty shoot-outs.
Martinez received a yellow card in the first half for timewasting, as Villa aimed to preserve their aggregate lead. Later, during the penalty shoot-out, the referee issued Martinez a second yellow card for his behaviour.
To the surprise of many observers, Martinez was not sent off despite accumulating two yellow cards. This was not an error by the referee but rather a consequence of a recent rule alteration by the International Football Association Board (IFAB).
The IFAB decided that all cautions issued to players and coaches during regular time would not carry over to penalty shoot-outs. Therefore, although Martinez is officially recorded with two yellow cards, the first one did not count for penalties, allowing him to remain on the pitch.
However, Martinez is expected to serve a one-game suspension for accumulating two yellow cards in one match. This suspension will likely take effect in the first leg of the semi-final.
Following the match, Martinez maintained his innocence and claimed he had been unfairly targeted due to his reputation.
“I just have a bad reputation for time-wasting because the other goalie was doing exactly the same thing,” Martinez said.
He continued: “I get booked after 30 minutes, and we’re losing the game, so I don’t know what the ref wants from me. There was no ball on the penalty spot, and I’m asking for a ball from a ball boy and then I get booked. I don’t understand the rules.”
The tie had ended 3-3 on aggregate, with Matt Cash’s late goal sending the game into extra time after Aston Villa had seen Lille wipe out their first leg lead to seize the initiative.