Man Utd ace Lisandro Martinez booed by Fulham fans after holding Falklands flag in England World Cup clash

LISANDRO MARTINEZ was BOOED by Fulham fans – weeks after flaunting a Falklands flag at the World Cup. The Argentine was heckled whenever he touched the ball in the early stages of Manchester United‘s trip to Craven Cottage on Sunday. Lisandro Martinez was given a hostile reception at Craven Cottage Credit: Reuters The Argentina defender celebrated with a Falklands flag at the World Cup Credit: Reuters Martinez had not been singled out by other teams’ fans this season, forcing some perplexed viewers to turn to social media for answers. The 28-year-old – nicknamed ‘The Butcher’ – is a fiery and divisive player at the best of times. Sign up for the Man United newsletter Thank you! But the route of Fulham fans’ outrage may be traced back to this summer‘s World Cup. Martinez was one of several players who celebrated with a controversial banner after Argentina beat England 2-1 in the semi-finals. It said ‘Las Malvinas son Argentinas’, which means ‘The Falklands are Argentine’. Martinez and his team-mates then left the flag face-up on the pitch. Fifa subsequently fined Argentina a whopping £237,000 for breaching their rules about political demonstrations. Martinez missed United’s opening-weekend Premier League defeat at Hull but has been a mainstay under Michael Carrick since then. Most read in Sport BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK He played the full 90 minutes against Ipswich, Everton and Manchester City before being named in the starting 11 again at Fulham. But United have struggled during a dire early-season run that has left Carrick under pressure. Comment now