In a surprising turn of events, Aston Villa’s goalkeeper Emi Martinez managed to stay on the pitch despite receiving a second yellow card during their Europa Conference League quarter-final second leg against Lille on Thursday evening. The confusion stemmed from Martinez being booked for time wasting in normal time and receiving another yellow card during the penalty shoot-out, as the match ended 3-3 on aggregate after 120 minutes.
Despite the double booking, Martinez remained in goal and even made two crucial saves to help Villa secure a spot in the semi-finals.
Fabrizio Romano, a well-known football transfer expert, shed light on the rule that allowed Martinez to continue playing.
He took to Twitter to share his thoughts, stating: “Dibu Martínez did it again. Two penalties saved, shushing the crowd in France (!) and helping Aston Villa to enter the semi-finals. Martinez was also booked in the first half, then he got a second yellow card in the penalty shootout…but he wasn’t sent off as ‘a player who receives a yellow card during match penalties is NOT sent off’.”