7 reasons why Lionel Messi or anyone shouldn't take Diego Maradona seriously

6) Middle finger on live TV

If being controversial prior to the World Cup 2010 wasn’t enough for him, he took it to the next level when he showed then AFA president the middle finger via live TV during the 2014 World Cup.

As Argentina were heading towards a goalless draw against Iran, Diego Maradona left the stands with only a few minutes to go. After he left, however, Lionel Messi scored an incredible goal to take Argentina to the next round.

Julio Grondona, then AFA president, claimed that Maradona was a jinxed figure and the goal in his absence proved just that.

When the matter was revealed to him on live TV, he said, “poor old man, jinx this,” before showing his middle finger with Grondona as the target.

About the author

Umid Kumar Dey has been writing at Sportskeeda since January 2015, focusing mainly on football, cricket and WWE. In that time, he has gone on to become one of the most-read writers on the website.

His work has also featured on Goal and he has also edited a book. Currently, he works as a freelance writer who aspires to become a data scientist in the field of sports.

You can follow him on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/TheFutbolJoker

Know More

Edited by Staff Editor