Emiliano Martinez avoids getting sent off DURING penalty shootout for winding up Lille fans thanks to little-known rule… before Aston Villa keeper saves decisive spot-kick

Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez appeared to be sent off during his side's penalty shootout, only to remain on the pitch due to a little-known rule.

The Argentina goalkeeper, who made headlines with his antics in the World Cup final shootout against France, was warned by Slovakian referee Ivan Kruzliak before he was shown a second yellow card.

A bizarre rule, however, meant he was allowed to remain on the pitch for the rest of the shootout and was the hero once again.

Having saved from Nabil Bentaleb early on, Martinez put his finger to hips lips to quieten the home fans, only for Leon Bailey to miss for Villa to level proceedings.

Prior to that, though, Martinez was shown a second yellow card of the game by Kruzliak, seemingly for not getting into position as Watkins waited to take his spot kick with a ball absent, and Villa fans were temporarily left with their hearts in their mouths.

After Martinez's extravagant celebrations after saving from Bentaleb, he was warned to calm down by the referee and seemed to accept the orders.

As the players awaited a ball before Watkins' kick, however, Martinez looked to the crowd and appeared shocked when Kruzliak approached him again to show him his second yellow card of the match.

He was shown a yellow after just 38 minutes for apparent time wasting, with the referee seeming to insinuate that he had done so multiple times already in the game.

The 31-year-old was the centre of attention in the game already, having wound up French fans when Argentina beat the country on penalties in the World Cup final, with Martinez the star.

He took pleasure in winding up the home faithful, also performing his signature dance when he denied Benjamin Andre to give Villa the win.

When he was shown a second yellow by the referee, Villa captain Douglas Luiz dashed from the half way line to protest the call, only to be told that his goalkeeper would be able to remain on the field.

The reason was because of a little-known rule, which states that all bookings are reset before shootouts, meaning Martinez was booked twice but shown no red card.

Protesting his innocence, Martinez was again warned of his behaviour and kept his cool for the rest of the shootout to help his side into the last four.