Emiliano Martínez spoke after FIFA’s “anti Dibu” rule for penalties: “I enjoy it, it’s my time to pull away”

The heroic performance of Emiliano Martinez in the conquest of the World Cup in Qatar 2022 with the Argentina national team, it has generated repercussions all over the world and in various fields. But the attitudes of the man from Mar del Plata during the penalty shootout – something that already came from the Copa América 2021 – caught the attention of the International Councilwhich regulates football regulations before FIFA and last Friday announced an “anti Dibu” rule to avoid annoying every executor.

“It’s my time to disconnect. I don’t take it as pressure, it’s fun. It’s something I like,” said “Dibu” Martínez in an interview with AFA Estudio. During the tournament in Arab lands, the 30-year-old from Mar del Plata was fundamental in the matches against Australia (with a save on the time in the round of 16), Holland (save two penalties to win the quarterfinals) and the final against France (a deflected shot in the definition).

In those episodes, Dibu Martínez went around the world for his mind games: he talked to the footballer, intimidated him with his dances and even, on one occasion, threw the ball away to make his rival nervous.

Furthermore, he specifically referred to what happened against the Netherlands: “I knew Van Dijk from Liverpool. I’d seen him kick high and thought it wouldn’t change. In that penalty I stretched so much that I injured my hip and it still hurts”.

When asked about his save against the French striker in the final Randal Kolo Muanithe winner of The Best goalkeeper of 2022 award admitted that “it was such a quick play” that he had “no time to enjoy it”.

In another section, Martínez highlighted the link with the captain Lionel Messi, who “deserved more than anyone” to win the World Cup. “As in the Copa América we were happy for him, in the World Cup it was the same. I play first for the national team and then for him, because he deserved it more than anyone else,” he said.

With just 23 appearances for Argentina, ‘Dibu’ Martínez has already won three titles and is a crowd favorite, but he is not satisfied and intends to bet more. “I want to continue leaving a legacy. I’ve only played 23 games, I want to add games and play with my people. I want them to want to see me, for the boys to want to be goalkeepers is something beautiful. Today, seeing the boys who play my little dance give me more pride than being world champion,” he concluded.

What does the law say and when does it come into effect?

This Friday, the International Board published some regulatory changes that will come into effect in football from July 1st this year and one of the changes is a clear reaction against Emiliano Martínez: it refers to the behavior of the goalkeeper in front of the executor of a penalty .

“The goalkeeper must remain on his goal line, between the two posts but without touching them, the crossbar or the net, and in front of the kicker until the ball is struck. The goalkeeper will not behave in a way that distracts the kicker in an unregulated way, for example it will not delay the execution of the penalty or touch the posts, the crossbar or the goal net”, indicates the article.

And he continues as follows: “It is clarified that, with his behavior, the goalkeeper will not disrespect the football or the opponent. For example, by distracting the player in an illegal way”.

How do you translate? A goalkeeper will now not be able to clear the ball from the player before taking the maximum penalty, nor speak to the referee or the player before kick-off.

Dibu had some behaviors that tried to distract the sanctions enforcers. For example: in the 2021 Copa América semi-final against Colombia, he told Yerry Mina “look what I eat, brother”.

Already at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar he used distraction strategies against the Netherlands, in the quarter-finals, and in the aforementioned definition against France who finished with the third star for the national team.

other changes

The International Board also ruled that “in penalty shoot-outs, warnings and reprimands imposed on players and coaching staff during the match will not be taken into account”.

This means that if a player was booked and commits a yellow offense in the penalty shootout, he will not be sent off but will receive another yellow card.

Additionally, the IB announced that if a person invades the field of play during a goal, that goal will only be disallowed if that individual interferes with play. In this it is worth mentioning that in Dibu’s save on Kolo Muani in the World Cup final there was an image showing that some French substitutes entered the field before the shot. This is why the controversy arose that, if it had been a goal, the referee could have canceled it. With this new regulation, it is already known that the goal should not be invalidated.

And the IB also explained in which situations an infringing defender inside his own box should be penalized after the penalty if it is a clear goal situation. He will be yellow if the foul is in the dispute for the ball. Otherwise, “grabbing, pulling, pushing, inability to play the ball, etc.), the offender will be sent off.”