Argentina goalkeeper Before the World Cup qualifier against Brazil in Rio de Janeiro, Emiliano Martinez was seen furiously pointing at police as they charged at fans with batons.
As Argentina’s World Cup qualifier against Brazil was marred by crowd violence, Emiliano Martinez was seen attempting to rip a riot police officer’s baton from his grip.
The two rivals met in Rio de Janeiro for what many expected to be a heated battle, but few could have predicted how things would turn out. Argentina captain Lionel Messi led his team back into the dressing room, away from the chaos in the stands, as kick-off was delayed.
The close proximity of the two sets of rival fans appeared to cause issues, resulting in violent scenes during the national anthems before the game began. As the situation deteriorated, police launched a baton charge on Argentina supporters during the Brazilian national anthem, prompting Martinez’s intervention.
The Aston Villa goalkeeper was seen attempting to leap into the crowd and grab one of the police officer’s batons. Martinez, clearly enraged, proceeded to point and shout at one police officer in particular before being led away by a combination of his teammates and pitch-side security.
Shortly after this heinous incident, Messi chose to lead his team off the field, though Brazil’s stars remained on the field as they waited for the situation to calm down. According to local reports, Argentina requested a 15-minute delay to determine whether the game could be played in such an atmosphere of rage and tension.
The game did eventually begin, but not before Messi was seen in the midst of a heated exchange with his Brazilian counterpart Rodrygo. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner would have the last laugh, as Argentina won 1-0 thanks to a Nicolas Otamendi header just after the hour mark.
Joelinton was shown a red card for lashing out at Rodrigo De Paul twenty minutes later, reducing the hosts to ten men. The result was Brazil’s first defeat in World Cup qualifying on home soil, and it extended a run of three consecutive defeats.
Their recent record against rival Argentina is dismal, with three losses and one tie in their last four meetings. To make matters worse, the visitors chose to celebrate on the field with their fans after the game.
Messi was critical of how the police handled the situation after the game. “We saw how the police were hitting people, including some of our families here,” he TyC Sports. It happened again in the [Copa] Libertadores final, repressing the people. They are more concerned with that than with playing the game. We are a unit. We decided to play to de-escalate the situation.”
