Ballon d’Or: Emi Martinez Booed During Ceremony After Taunting Kylian Mbappe At Qatar World Cup

• Emi Martinez was received by boos and jeers from a section of the crowd during the Ballon d'Or ceremony
• Martinez won the Best Goalkeeper of the Year award mainly for his exploits with Argentina at the Qatar World Cup
• He, however, made enemies after he was spotted taunting Kylian Mbappe and the French crowd after the final

Emi Martinez was accorded a harsh reception at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, the venue of the 2023 Ballon d'Or ceremony on October 30.

The Aston Villa goalkeeper was among the high-profile attendees who graced the 67th edition of the awards. Lionel Messi was officially announced as the winner after weeks of intensified speculation.

He beat Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe, who finished second and third, respectively. Aitana Bonmati walked away with the Women's Ballon d'Or, replacing her Barcelona teammate Alexia Putellas.

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Martinez bagged the Lev Yachine trophy, an award given to the best goalkeeper. The Argentine shot-stopper had a brilliant run in Qatar, where, alongside Messi, they dragged the nation to their first World Cup since 1986.

Why was Emi Martinez booed at the Ballon d'Or?

He came up with important stops in the penalty shootouts of the quarterfinals against the Netherlands and the final against France. His biggest save came in the stoppage time of the second half of the final, where he denied Randal Kolo Muani from close range.

Afterwards, he was spotted on numerous occasions taunting Mbappe after making an obscene gesture while on the dais. However, as Sports Brief reported, he later apologised to the Paris Saint-Germain superstar.

While his highlights were being shown at the award ceremony, a section of the audience booed him, seemingly still angry with his reactions in the Middle East.

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As Goal reports, football legend and show host Didier Drogba stepped in and asked the hecklers to stop and show some respect to the award winner.

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The former Barcelona captain won the only trophy eluding his career, the FIFA World Cup and was Argentina's main man, turning up in the big games, amongst other reasons.