Qatar 2022: You damaged your victory with that action – Vieira slams Martinez over Mbappe

Crystal Palace boss, Patrick Vieira has slammed Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez for abusing Kylian Mbappe during Argentina World Cup celebrations

The Argentine goalkeeper held a doll with Mbappe’s face next to Lionel Messi during Argentina’s World Cup parade.

According to Vieira, such abuse of a fellow player has ‘damaged the game’.

The South Americans beat the defending champions on penalties in the World Cup final in Qatar but took their celebrations too far.

Martinez began by mocking Mbappe directly after the final, calling for a minute’s silence for the Frenchman while Argentina partied in the dressing room.

Martinez’s behaviour since the final has been widely condemned and Vieira, a World Cup winner with France in 1998, pointed out that all this has tainted Argentina’s victory.

‘When you are talking about the abuse and the comments that he [Mbappe] received after the World Cup, I think that is damaging the game and himself,” Vieira told the press on Friday ahead of Crystal Palace’s Boxing Day Premier League.

“Some of the pictures that I saw from the Argentina goalkeeper took away a little bit from what Argentina achieved at the World Cup.

“That was a stupid decision from Martinez to do that.”