Cause of death of the Argentinean legend
The Argentinean authorities have confirmed that Maradona passed away at midday local time in his house in the province of Buenos Aires. Heart failure was the cause of death, according to district attorney John Broyad, who attended the Argentinean legend’s house in Tigre, in the province of Buenos Aires, where Maradona passed away today.
Simeone: “Maradona was our guide when we were kids” As expected Diego Simeone was asked about Maradona’s death in his press conference after Atleti’s goalless draw with Lokomotiv. El Cholo remembered how Maradona took him under his wing when he joined Sevilla and sent a message of condolence to Diego’s family. “It’s tough, really difficult, like I am sure it must be for everyone who shared time with Diego. A legend has left us. Those of us in that era, aged 8 or 9 years old, grew up looking up to Diego when he was still starting out and so for us, he was the guide for what it meant to play football. All of us feel a lot of pain in this moment. Maradona is football, he’s Argentinean… he had that rebellious character which identified him wherever he went and I am left with the moments I shared with him – he invited me to his house, he looked after me, he showed me what the Argentinean national side is all about, what it feels to play for Argentina. So when someone tells you that “Diego’s gone”, it’s very hard for that to sink in, you think it can’t be true, “No, no he can’t have gone…”. But he will still be with us, his spirit will remain in football grounds everywhere. He’s the best”.
Hoje despeço-me de um amigo e o Mundo despede-se de um génio eterno. Um dos melhores de todos os tempos. Um mágico inigualável. Parte demasiado cedo, mas deixa um legado sem limites e um vazio que jamais será preenchido. Descansa em paz, craque. Nunca serás esquecido.🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/WTS21uxmdL
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) November 25, 2020
🙏🇦🇷 The farewell message from #Messi to Maradona pic.twitter.com/LlCrjVj6er
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 25, 2020
UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin: "I am deeply saddened to hear of the death of Diego Maradona, one of world football’s greatest and most iconic figures. He achieved greatness as a wonderful player with a genius and charisma of his own." pic.twitter.com/BYGWL2sNFZ
— UEFA (@UEFA) November 25, 2020
Eternamente Gracias Diego por todo lo que nos diste!!!
Descansá en paz. Te lo ganaste de sobra 😢 pic.twitter.com/mz5sdcALcr— Javier Mascherano (@Mascherano) November 25, 2020
A hero for an entire country and football itself.
One of the greatest players to have graced the game of football, and we were lucky enough to enjoy you at Sevilla FC.
Diego Armando Maradona, forever eternal.
Rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/BXHNC51vxe— Sevilla FC (@SevillaFC_ENG) November 25, 2020
Ali Nasser, the Tunisian referee who allowed Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal to stand, has spoken to AFP.
“I didn’t see the hand, but I had a doubt,” Nasser, now 76, said. “You can see the pictures: I stepped back to take the advice of my assistant, Bulgarian (Bogdan) Dochev, and when he said it was good, I gave the goal.”
“Fifa gave me a 9.4 [referee rating] on this game, I did what I had to do, but there was confusion. Dochev later indicated that he had seen two arms, and he didn’t know if it was Shilton’s or Maradona’s.
You know, sometimes it’s best to say nothing at all.
Emotions are understandably running high today.
In unrelated news, Marseille boss Andre Villas-Boas has reportedly called on Fifa to retire the No 10 worldwide in honour of Maradona.
Legendary 💔 pic.twitter.com/BRd5oAXV9S
— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) November 25, 2020