ARGENTINA-SPORTS: Maradona’s Fans Hope for a Miracle

By Marcela Valente Reprint | | Print |

Marcela Valente

BUENOS AIRES, Sep 5 1997 (IPS) - Stalling action by football legend Diego Maradona’s lawyers has given his fans a faint glimmer of hope that an abrupt end will not be put to his career shortly before his 37th birthday.

A second urine test, carried out three times in the presence of Maradona’s attorneys, judiciary officials, representatives of his club – Boca Juniors – and the Argentine Football Association (AFA), and filmed by members of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, confirmed traces of an illegal substance.

But off the record reports that the substance was cocaine have yet to be officially confirmed, and Maradona’s defence attorneys have demanded a DNA test to prove that the urine was indeed his. “Diego deserves that certainty,” said one of his lawyers, Hugo Jofre.

Maradona’s representative Guillermo Coppola says he believes the footballer, who swore he had not used drugs.

But the shadow of his past looms large. In 1991, a drug test revealed that Maradona had used cocaine while playing for the Napoli Club in Italy. He returned to the field after a prolonged suspension. But in the middle of the 1994 World Cup in the United States, his urine was found to contain traces of ephedrine, a substance prohibited in sports.

And between the 1991 and 1994 incidents, Maradona was arrested for possession of illegal substances, and forced into rehabilitation treatment.

But the able avoiding action of his forward line of attorneys and representatives, the multi-million dollar interests at stake and the unconditional support of his fans could lead to a new resurrection of the idol whose misfortunes make headlines worldwide.

One element delaying the final decision is a denunciation lodged over a month ago by Maradona’s lawyers, who reported that the footballer had received threatening phone calls, one of which warned “we’re going to get you with the anti-doping” (urine test).

Without denying that the most probable outcome is that the urine is proven to be Maradona’s and that the substance detected was cocaine, the player’s lawyers have opened a legal debate on football and doping.

They point out that Maradona has never denied that he had a drug problem, and that he was submitted to an advanced, extremely sensitive urine test capable of detecting traces of cocaine consumed up to a month beforehand.

The attorneys argue for the definition of an acceptable level of the substance, which would not impede competition by people with drug problems.

The president of AFA, Julio Grondona, acknowledged this week that the International Football Association (FIFA) was considering eliminating cocaine from the list of drugs prohibited in football, because consumption of the substance compromises rather than improves sports performance.

Argentina’s new anti-doping law, for which regulations have still to be established, stipulates that the aim is not to punish consumption, but to defend fairness in sports.

“A certain level of cocaine in a sick person cannot be interpreted as doping,” maintained lawyer Jofre. “If AFA decides that addicts are to be excluded from football, Maradona should never have returned to the field.”

Meanwhile, Maradona’s fans are standing by him. “Nothing will change my love for you, Diego. Hold on!” read one of the many placards Wednesday night in the Boca Juniors stadium, where the famous footballer’s team won one-zero against Brazil’s Cruzeiro.