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Friday October 30, 2009

FA: Maradona’s insults made ‘in state of violent emotion’

BUENOS AIRES: Diego Maradona was “in a state of violent emotion” when he made lewd remarks at journalists after Argentina qualified for the World Cup Finals, the Argentine FA’s (AFA) lawyer said on Wednesday.

FIFA opened an investigation into Maradona’s outburst at the globally broadcast news conference after his team beat Uruguay 1-0 in Montevideo on Oct 14 to secure their place at the 2010 Finals in South Africa.

Maradona could be fined and banned for at least five matches, according to the FIFA disciplinary code, which could affect his hopes of being in charge of Argentina at the Finals.

Lawyer Hugo Passos told reporters on Wednesday the AFA report sent to FIFA said “Maradona was acting in a state of violent emotion over arguments with journalists in the days before the match (in Uruguay)”.

The AFA are looking to pour cold water on the issue to try to avoid a sanction for Maradona, who has refused to apologise, saying he had felt aggrieved over criticism of his work.

Maradona’s tenure has been marked by clashes with players, coaches, journalists and directors since he took charge midway through the qualifiers in November 2008 following the resignation of Alfio Basile. — Reuters

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