On this day, June 13th, in 1998, Diego Maradona was given a suspended prison sentence for going one further than the old hat and glasses disguise, as he shot with an air rifle at an assembled group of newspaper hacks, that assembled outside his Buenos Aires home. TV footage showed the event and Diego was found guilty of assault with a weapon as he crouched behind a Mercedes with two other men firing an air gun at reporters. The ruling however, cleared the way for the former Argentine national team captain to travel to France for the World Cup. While there, Maradona, 37, is expected to serve as a commentator for several television networks covering the competition.
The journalists injured by Maradona said they would appeal because they considered the sentence too light. "But at least this exemplary case does show that there is justice for all," said reporter Daniel Talamoni, one of the four journalists who sued Maradona. "When the case began four years ago, everyone said it was impossible they would sentence a man idolised in Argentina and forgiven everything." The shooting preceded the lowest point in the career of one of soccer's best-ever players. A few months after the incident, Maradona was sent home in disgrace from the 1994 World Cup in the United States for testing positive for a banned stimulant. Cocaine His career has been marred in recent years by drug scandals and temperamental, short-lived comebacks. He was banned for 15 months for taking cocaine while playing for the Napoli team in Italy in 1991.
Meanwhile, back in Europe, England managed to snatch defeat from the claws of victory, in their European Championship in 2004 (twenty years ago) as Zinedine Zidane scored twice in injury time to give the Bleus a 2-1 victory. A first half Frank Lampard goal looked to have secured a win for the Three Lions, but Zizou's imperious free kick and then a penalty ensured that the legions of English fans in the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon had to endure another night of " what could have been"!!
and the other side of Zinedine!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAjWi663kXc
No comments:
Post a Comment