Saudi Arabia retains its seat on OPCW Executive Council    Saudi Transport Authority cracks down on foreign trucks violating rules    Saudi Arabia's R&D expenditure hits SR22.61 billion in 2023    Saudi Arabia, Comoros strengthen economic ties with new MoU    Saudi Arabia receives extradited citizen wanted for corruption crimes from Russia    Ukraine fights to keep the lights on as Russia hammers power plants    Sweden asks China to cooperate over severed cables    Childcare worker who abused more than 60 girls jailed for life    Indian airlines hit by nearly 1,000 hoax bomb threats    K-Pop group NewJeans split from agency in mistreatment row    Defending the Truth: Saudi Arabia and the 2034 World Cup    Culture minister visits Diriyah Art Futures    GCC Preparatory Ministerial Meeting discusses developments in Gaza and Lebanon    RCRC Chief: Riyadh Metro, featuring environmental sustainability, will improve quality of life and revolutionize transportation    Saudi Arabia hosts over 13 million foreign residents from 60 countries, says human rights official    Al Taawoun seals AFC Champions League Two knockout spot with 2-1 win over Al Khaldiya    Al Hilal advances to AFC Champions League knockout stage despite 1-1 draw with Al Sadd    Best-selling novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford dies    Most decorated Australian Olympian McKeon retires    Adele doesn't know when she'll perform again after tearful Vegas goodbye    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Maradona offers no apology for tirade
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 23 - 10 - 2009

Diego Maradona won't apologize for a profanity-filled tirade on live TV, which is being investigated by FIFA and could land the Argentina coach a five-game suspension and a fine of almost $20,000.
Maradona was defiant in a television interview on state-run Canal 7, which came just hours after FIFA said it had opened a disciplinary investigation into his conduct last week following Argentina's 1-0 victory at Uruguay, which advanced the struggling team to next year's World Cup.
The embattled Argentina coach said he planned to take the team to South Africa and had no plans to resign. He said the remarks were aimed at critics and journalists who he suggested were “anti-Argentine.”
“It was getting it off my chest, and I don't regret it,” Maradona said late Wednesday in the interview. “I gave my mother a kiss on the forehead and told her: ‘If I was wrong I ask your forgiveness, but nobody else.' “It had been building up,” he added.
Maradona said after the match that his use of profanities did not merit an apology, and he reiterated that Wednesday.
“I apologize to the ladies, but not to those who talk about football on television,” Maradona said. “What I said was also late - outside family viewing hours.”
FIFA's disciplinary code says a suspension and fine should apply to any football figure who “lowers himself through acts or words, to discriminate or insult a person or group of persons ... in a way that undermines human dignity.”
Argentine Football Association president Julio Grondona, who hired Maradona and is also a FIFA vice president, dismissed the remarks as a momentary outburst.
Maradona also denied rumors that he is using drugs again.
As a player, he was kicked out of the 1994 World Cup in the United States after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Five years ago, he suffered a heart attack attributed to a cocaine overdose. Maradona says he's been clean ever since.
“I'm not going to put up with those who say I'm taking again, because – thank God – I've been clean for five years,” he said.


Clic here to read the story from its source.