Emi Martinez saved Lille’s first penalty before receiving his second yellow card of the night; there was confusion when he stayed on the pitch rather than being sent off; Aston Villa goalkeeper then saved the decisive spot-kick to send his side into the semi-finals.
Aston Villa’s penalty shoot-out hero Emi Martinez was not sent off at Lille in Thursday’s Europa Conference League quarter-final despite being booked twice.
Villa won the game on penalties after Lille beat them 2-1 in the second leg to bring the aggregate score to 3-3 at the end of extra-time.Martinez, who had initially been cautioned in the 39th minute, looked set to receive his marching orders during the shoot-out when referee Ivan Kruzliak brandished a second yellow card for his gamesmanship. However, the Villa goalkeeper was allowed to stay on the pitch, causing confusion around the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, before saving the decisive penalty. The official was simply following the laws of the game, with IFAB rule 10.3 stipulating that bookings are not carried through to penalties.
The rule states: “Yellow cards and warnings from the game are not carried forward into penalties but a player who was shown a red card during the game cannot take part.
“Players, substitutes, substituted players and team officials can get a red or yellow card during penalties.”