The 2023 Ballon’D’or award ceremony went almost well, the highest award went to Messi, but unwanted ripples could not be avoided.

During the 2023 Ballon’D’or awards ceremony , Aston Villa star Emi Martinez was honored as the best goalkeeper in the world for the 2022/23 season. This is partly due to his excellence in the Argentina shirt, helping this team win on penalties against France to win the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

However, when the Aston Villa star went on stage to receive the award, he was met with booing and continuous chants of “Mbappe” from the audience in the hall. It came from the video that the organizers broadcast on the big screen, which was the situation where Martinez blocked Kolo-Muani’s shot in the final minutes, causing France to miss the opportunity to end the match.

Situation where Martinez blocked Muani’s shot in the final minute of injury time (Source: Getty)

Facing the above sensitive situation, fortunately former Chelsea player, also the MC of the program, Didier Drogba, spoke up at the right time to ask the audience to respect this goalkeeper.

The Daily Star page also posted some interesting comments from French audiences, one fan said: “To be fair, I would also be extremely upset, who would want to relive that moment as a a Frenchman ”. The second person shared: “France Football is so strong when it shows that clip, if it were me it wouldn’t exist.” A third person said: “Emi Martinez is truly public enemy No. 1 in that country.”

Obviously, the waves of mixed opinions are unavoidable. Martinez’s excellence caused France to lose its second consecutive World Cup championship, which also indirectly caused this country’s star, Kylian. Mbappe lost the opportunity to win the first Golden Ball of his career.

However, speaking when receiving the 2023 Ballon d’Or , Messi also acknowledged the talent of Haaland and especially Mbappe, emphasizing that the French star will achieve this noble individual title in the coming years.