FIFA to examine Maradona's role as paid ambassador after behaviour against Nigeria
- Diego Maradona will no longer earn £10,000 daily allowance from world’s football governing body, FIFA
- The Word Cup winner is being sanction over failure to control his emotions during the Albiceleste’s 2-1 win over Nigeria’s Super Eagles
- But the Argentine will face a possible stadium ban, if he repeats such gesture going forward
World’s football governing body, FIFA will be examining Diego Maradona’s gesture during Argentina’s Albiceleste final Group D match against Nigeria’s Super Eagles on Tuesday, June 26, after taking into account the unhealthy scenes despite the legend’s ambassadorial role, a UK Telegraph report suggests.
The former World Cup winner, was reportedly earning £10,000 plus expenses for event he attends in his capacity as a FIFA ambassador, but was captured by television cameras reacting negatively as he celebrated Marcos Rojo’s winning with a double one-finger salute.
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Seriously, FIFA rules prohibit discrimination by teams, officials and fans at matches it organises and Maradona posted on his Facebook page that he saw “an Asian boy wearing an Argentina T-shirt”, adding: “I, from afar, tried to tell them how nice it seemed to me that even the Asians cheer for us. And that’s all, guys, come on.”
After the match, the Argentine sent a voice message to a journalist friend, where he said: “Where we were, they were only serving white wine. Yes, we drank all the wine.”
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Reacting further, Maradona rejected suffering a fatal heart attack.
“I swear on the lives of my mum, my grandson Benjamin and my son Dieguito Fernando’s life that nothing happened,” he added.
Interestingly, the former Argentina playmaker was not on the official FIFA VIP list for the Argentina and Nigeria fixture as he was, during the South Americans opening match against Iceland, where he was spotted smoking a cigar at the non-smoking section of the Spartak Stadium.
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In another message to his partner, Rocio Olivia, Maradona said: “Hello, my love. No heart attack, no injection, nothing.
“I don’t know where they’re getting it from that I had heart problems or I had to be an adrenaline shot. It all seems so mad, so stupid,” he wrote, even as he added.
“It’s 3am and we’re just getting back to Moscow without any problems. No alcohol or important story.”
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Furthermore, Maradona also took out time to post more reactions on his official Facebook page: “I want to tell everyone that I am fine, and I was not taken to hospital. At half-time, my neck hurt a lot and I had a faint.
“I was checked by a doctor and he recommended me to go home before the second half, but I wanted to stay because we were risking it all. How could I leave? I send a kiss to everyone, thanks for the support!”
Already, the Albiceleste legend has a history of c0caine abuse after being banned twice from football after failing dr^gs tests at the 1994 World Cup in United States of America.
Other ex-internationals that have been named ambassadors for specific FIFA tournaments include former France defender Marcel Desailly as well as former Russia striker Aleksandr Kerzhakov for the ongoing Mundial.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously had reported that Diego Maradona gets £10,000 a day from FIFA for appearance and other expenses.
The football legend has been part of Argentina's influence as they progressed to the last 16 with his antics in Saint Petersburg in the win over Nigeria.
The Albiceleste legend appeared to be intoxicated and admitted to bingeing on white wine, while for a second time, Maradona made an offensive gesture during matches.
Nigeria VS Argentina. World Cup Showdown | Legit.ng TV
Source: Legit.ng