The International FA Board is set to bring about new changes in its penalty rules in order to stop antics like that of Argentina shot stopper Emiliano Martinez in the World Cup final against France, the Sun reported.
The IFAB is set to draft new regulations at the AGM in London in March before rewriting the laws which would look into the gamesmanships of the goalkeepers who sometimes “unfairly distract” the penalty taker through various tactics.
Martinez was the one whose antics during the penalty shootouts in the World Cup grabbed limelight due to his aggressive approach. In the final against France, he made Kingsley Coman wait for a while as he talked to the referee, asking him to check the ball placement on the penalty spot.
Martinez would also play mind games with Real Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni as he stepped up to take his spot kick, by walking to his goal-line with the ball and throwing it to the edge of the box.
These tactics worked and both the French players missed their kicks as Argentina ran away with a 4-2 win on penalties and won their 3rd World Cup.
Martinez has been in the eye of the storm for his gesture after collecting his Golden Glove award where he placed it in his crotch area on the podium.
Martinez’s explanation for the gesture was that he did it in response to boos from the France supporters.
However, FIFA had released a statement on the incident, saying that Argentina breached its code of conduct.
“Potential breaches of articles 11 (Offensive behaviour and violations of the principles of fair play) and 12 (Misconduct of players and officials) of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, as well as of article 44 of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Regulations,” the statement read.