An Argentinian soccer player has been accused of slapping a TV cameraman following a World Cup qualifier.
An ESPN.com article reports that Argentina goalkeeper Emilia Martinez slapped a TV cameraman, Jhonny Jackson, after Colombia defeated the country 2-1 in their 2028 World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.
“Footage he captured shows the World Cup winner, who Argentines known as Dibu, hitting the camera, which quickly falls to the ground,” the article wrote.
The cameraman expressed that he was “very angry” after the incident and told Dibu to “look ahead” and “everyone has lost a match in their life.” It’s clear that feathers were ruffled as a result of this incident.
According to the article, Jackson is responsible for delivering footage to both Caracol Television and RNC Deportes in the country.
The article says other footballers have received suspensions in the past over previous incidents. Time will tell if Martinez suffers a similar fate. You’d have to imagine that an investigation will be launched at some point. The Colombia Association of Sports Journalists requested that FIFA review the incident after the goalkeeper attacked the cameraman’s “freedom of expression.”
The statement, via ESPN.com, said, “As the journalistic authority in this country, ACORD wants FIFA to produce an exemplary sanction against Mr. Emiliano Dibu Martinez, who is no role model for the new generations.”
[ESPN.com]
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022