Emi Martinez has spoken out after his Europa Conference League penalty heroics as he was almost sent off for a double yellow card if not for a bizarre rule. 

Thursday was a fantastic night if you are a Villa fan. The club managed to secure their place in the Europa Conference League semi-finals.

Despite taking a 2-1 lead into France after their match at Villa Park, the visitors were poor in the first 90 minutes. 

The club were on the verge of being knocked out after Unai Emery’s side found themselves 2-0 down on the night. However, Matty Cash managed to find the back of the net at the death to take it to extra time. 

With the tie still level, penalties decided the game. This is where Emi Martinez shone. The goalkeeper saved two of the spot-kicks. However, he almost went from hero to villain if it weren’t for a bizarre rule.

Emi Martinez ‘didn’t know what the referee wanted’ against Lille

After being booked in the first half for time wasting, Martinez was walking on eggshells throughout the match.

However, as the penalty shootout got underway, the ‘keeper did what he does best – get into the heads of the opposition.

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This helped him save the first spot-kick and give Villa an immediate advantage. Yet, almost immediately after it looked as if his night was ending early as the referee handed him a second yellow for his antics.

Thankfully, the Argentine stayed on the pitch due to an old rule about penalty shootouts. 

However, after the match, Martinez remained less than amused with the referee due to his decision-making throughout.

He told TNT Sports: “I just have a bad reputation for time wasting because the other goalie was doing exactly the same thing.

“I get booked after 30 minutes and we are losing the game so I don’t know what the referee wanted from me.

“There is no ball on the penalty spot so I am asking for a ball from the ballboy and then I get booked. I just don’t understand the rules.”

The character of Aston Villa’s squad shines through

When Lille’s second goal went in, many Villa fans could be forgiven if they thought that was it.

On the night, the visitors were awful and had no answers to Lille’s threat for the vast majority of the game. For many sides, that would have been that and they would have crashed out of the competition.

However, many of Villa’s biggest characters understood the situation and stepped up to the challenge.

Martinez arguably produced the biggest performance of his Villa career. It was his moment to shine and he took it with both hands, even if it produced controversial moments.

Villa have now overcome their biggest hurdle on the way to the final. The Europa Conference League title is in their hands, and the Birmingham outfit should have no problems winning it.