Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez LAUNCHES himself at a policeman and manhandles him to slap his baton away after Brazilian police charged at Argentina fans ahead of a violent World Cup qualifier

• Argentina’s 1-0 win over Brazil at the Maracana was marred by crowd trouble
• The game kicked off after a delay of 30 minutes following fighting in the stands
• The curse of our game is abuse of referees, we are not doing enough to stop it. The punishments must be HARSH – It’s All Kicking Off 

Emiliano Martinez manhandled a police officer wielding a baton towards Argentina fans as the Albiceleste’s World Cup qualifier against Brazil was marred by crowd trouble.

A mass brawl broke out in the stands at the Maracana on Tuesday night ahead of Argentina’s 1-0 win over Brazil as fans and police clashed, forcing the kick-off to be postponed by almost 30 minutes.

After Argentina and Brazil fans started fighting during the national anthems, police officers intervened charged the visiting supporters in a bid to restore order, leaving some bloodied as a result.

Amid the shocking scenes, Martinez appeared leap up towards the stands to slap a baton out of an officer’s hands before being restrained by his teammates.  

A video posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, shows the Aston Villa goalkeeper trying to grab the arm of an officer who is wielding his baton over his head.

Emiliano Martinez manhandled a police officer wielding a baton towards Argentina fans

The Argentina keeper tried to leap into the stands as Brazilian police charged into the Argentina fans at the Maracana amid crowd trouble

Martinez had to be restrained by his teammates as fighting erupted in the stands 

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The Aston Villa goalkeeper is pushed back by another police officer, who appears to plead for calm with the Argentina players as they intervene to stop Martinez.

The World Cup winner is a notoriously colourful character and stole the limelight after Argentina beat France in the World Cup final last year with a controversial celebration that landed him in hot water.

Martinez, who saved a penalty in the shootout, won the Golden Glove award as the tournament’s best goalkeeper but as he was presented with his trophy and made a lewd gesture with the award.

FIFA subsequently opened an investigation against the Argentine’s actions for a violation of their rules on offensive behaviour and fair play under article 11 of their Disciplinary Code. 

Following the game on Tuesday, meanwhile, Lionel Messi launched a scathing attack on the Brazilian police, saying: 

‘We saw how [police] were hitting the people, it already happened in the Libertadores final. 

‘They were more focused on that than on the game.’

The Ballon d’Or winner was referring to the scenes at the Maracana before Fluminense’s win over Boca Juniors earlier this month.

Argentina initially appeared to be refusing to return to the field for kickoff before CONMEBOL gave them 15 minutes to take the field.

The reigning world champions insisted they would only return to the pitch once order had been restored and did so after spending over 20 minutes in the dressing room.

‘We went to the locker room because it was the best way to calm everything down, a tragedy could have happened,’ Messi explained.

‘We are a family. We decided to play to make situation more calm.’

Violence between Brazil and Argentina fans erupted during the national anthems 

The confrontation between the two sets of fans swiftly descended into chaos in the stands

Police officers intervened and charged the Argentina fans, wielding batons against them

A number of supporters were left bloodied following the incidents and needed medical help

Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates were escorted back to the dressing rooms as violence delayed kick-off by about 30 minutes

Messi said Argentina had decided to return to the dressing room as they feared for their safety

Nicolas Otamendi’s second half goal was the difference between the two sides as Argentina consolidated their place at the top of the South American qualifiers with 15 points in six games.

‘The truth is that this group continues to achieve historic things, once again,’ Messi said.

‘Obviously, at the beginning it was bad because we saw how they were beating people. 

‘You think about the family, the people who are there, who don’t know what’s going on and we are more concerned about that than playing a match. 

Nicolas Otamendi scored the only goal of the game as Argentina silenced the Maracana

The Albiceleste players celebrated in front of their fans at the end of a tense night

‘At that point the match was secondary.

‘After that, winning this game like this I think is one of the most important wins that this group has achieved. 

‘It is something very nice to be able to win here in Brazil, after how strong they have been at home throughout their history.’

The defeat was Brazil’s third in a row and their first in a World Cup qualifier on home soil, leaving the Selecao sixth in the standings, eight points behind their rivals and in the last spot that guarantees a place at the 2026 World Cup.  

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