World Cup Champion Goalkeeper Makes Lewd Gesture With Trophy; May Face Disciplinary Action

Emiliano Martínez, the goalkeeper of the Argentinian national football team, performed a lewd gesture on the World Cup stage just as the tournament wrapped up over the weekend.

The 30-year-old had just received the Golden Glove award during the games' award ceremony at Doha, Qatar's Lusail Stadium Sunday when the incident happened, The Telegraph reported.

Martínez, who won the trophy after being named best goalkeeper in this year's tournament, was caught on camera holding the trophy to his crotch and waving it as he walked back from the podium.

"No! Don't do that, Emi," BBC presenter Gary Lineker was quoted as saying during his commentary.

Gianni Infantino, the president of World Cup organizer FIFA, was reportedly among the officials present on the field at the time.

Many on social media were shocked and disappointed by the incident, while others found humor in it.

"Classless. Disrespectful," one Twitter user wrote.

"Forget about the gesture Martínez made... My attention is on the guy who's looking at him... He's like 'Bruh...HARAM!!' another said in a post that featured a man looking at Martínez as the Aston Villa goalkeeper waved his trophy.

Martínez's reasons for performing the gesture were unclear. It is also unclear if the Argentine goalkeeper will face any disciplinary action over the incident.

Several European teams in this year's World Cup abandoned their plans to wear a pro-LGBTQ armband during games after FIFA's threat of on-field punishment.

Martínez's lewd gesture could overshadow his saves during Argentina's final match against France that ultimately sealed his team's victory, according to The Telegraph.

Argentina last won a World Cup in 1986 under the leadership of the late soccer legend Diego Maradona.

While it is unclear how many people tuned in to this year's awards ceremony, FIFA claimed that television viewership numbers for the event broke records.

More than 3.5 billion people watched matches at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Sporting News reported. Around 1.12 billion tuned in for France's final win over Croatia that year.

Martínez, who has been playing professionally since he was 18, also helped Argentina win last year's Copa America.