The FIFA Disciplinary Committee, chaired by Marcel Mathier, decided today 15 November in Zurich to impose a two month ban on taking part in any football related activity and a 25,000 CHF fine on the head coach of Argentina Diego Armando Maradona, in relation to the disciplinary proceedings related to the incidents following the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match between Uruguay and Argentina played on 14 October 2009 in Montevideo. The committee reached this decision following a three hour meeting at the Home of FIFA in Zurich. The head coach of Argentina was heard by the committee during 40 minutes and apologised to FIFA and the world football family. The committee took into consideration the apologies and the sincere remorse shown by Maradona in its decision, which was communicated to him at the end of the meeting. The sanction, which was taken on the basis of article 57 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, applies from 15 November 2009 to 15 January 2010. The committee stressed that any breach of this decision or any repetition of a similar incident would mean that stronger sanctions would have to be imposed in the future. ******************************************** from Fifa.com Well? Is this fair? Did Diego get shafted? Do you think Diego is going to: (a) learn from his mistake? (b) continue to be the same? (c) or use this as a rallying cry to circle the wagons and make it a "us against them"? (d) or, dismiss it as yet another example of Diego's long term held believe that Fifa hates him And, do you think this could be a positive or negative affect on La Seleccion? Why, good-or-bad?
Re: Two month ban for Maradona If it helps get him fired, it would have a positive effect on La Seelccion.
Re: Two month ban for Maradona I was hoping for a second that the two months referred to world cup month. Irrational exuberance I guess.
Re: Two month ban for Maradona Fifa suspend Diego Armando Maradona for 2 months at a critical time for the team's developement with their head coach for asanine comments. No! Is Fifa doing this for justice?.... No If there's not 'red tape' in the matter, the day after Spain's loss, just before the Nigeria friendly, this has the workings of AFA politics. If not, Fifa firing Maradona at a massive time for the country when we need him most, since he is the guy who is our co-coordinator, is idiotic and turbulent. They might as well ban Argentina from the world cup. http://goal.com/en-us/news/84/afric...us-attacked-with-rocks-in-egypt-three-players
Re: Two month ban for Maradona There is no game with Nigeria ... There are no games until next year, so the ban is useless. There was a possibility of a game late in December against Catalunya (coached by Cruyff) which Diego would be banned from. Probably the game will be cancelled. There was also a chance for a local NT to play a friendly in December. If Diego can't be there, I'm sure he will cancel it too. .
Re: Two month ban for Maradona That ban is useless. I guess Fifa felt like they couldn't let him off the hook completely but seriously, how does that impact this team one way or another?
And Grondona doesn't run Futbol worldwide..... http://www.ole.clarin.com/notas/2009/11/14/futbolinternacional/02041480.html
Re: Two month ban for Maradona I think he should be egged on more. Hopefully he will start using drugs again. Another incident is bound to happen. He is a delinquent.
Re: Two month ban for Maradona At the end of the day this is good for us. We won't be handicapped significantly and can still get this show on the road. Argentine soccer ends very soon and many leagues break for winter thru out Europe. Jan 15 is not far away and if he was going to get two months these were the 2 months to get. Grondona holds such power over FIFA that it's incredible. DON JULIO running shit. At least we have one MF that knows what he's doing. The more this circus continues the more convinced I become that we are going to win this WC.
Re: Two month ban for Maradona Ok then, you take the win against Spain. I much prefer the WC. With today's decision by FIFA to give Maradona basically a slap on the wrist, Grondona swung his stick. Maradona is in charge of the WC because it sells and its going to sell HUGE IN AFRICA. As much as I don't want to think it, but it seems that the WC is signed and sealed and will be delivered to Grondona. So Spain or the WC, well Ill take the WC.
Re: Two month ban for Maradona Grondona is as corrupt as they come, but he's not stupid. If for a second he thought that Maradona would damage his chances of making money he would have had him eliminated from the position ASAP. He could have easily had him taken out of DT job via Sepp this past afternoon with a heavy 5 month or even longer ban. But that did not happen. Maradona stays on as coach. Grondona has a plan. Maradona is very popular in Africa and he's now going to be the coach of Argentina in the very first African World Cup. A world cup that has had many economic challenges. Maradona is a draw for the WC. He's part of how they plan to make money in Africa, thats why I wouldn't be surprised if Argentina isn't already selected to win it all. The writing is on the wall, can't you see it?
Re: Two month ban for Maradona I hope you're not fully serious with these stupid assertions. It would take more than corrupting all referees to ensure we win the cup...
Re: Two month ban for Maradona Because it's never happened before? Because a WC game or games have never been rigged? Dale loco dejate de joder.
A little light reading! http://www.playthegame.org/upload//Ezequiel_Moores_-_Don_Julio_-_The_Godfather_Behind_Blatter.pdf
Re: Two month ban for Maradona A game, sure. WC 2002 had some for instance. But to assume these people have already planned for Argentina to win is totally insane and makes people wonder of your sanity.
Re: Two month ban for Maradona Somehow you think that these decisions are made on the spot? Who do you think got the African Nations their world cup?
Re: Two month ban for Maradona How naive of me... I thought that the team winning was the one scoring more goals
Re: Two month ban for Maradona NYC_Cosmos buddy, I do think you're exaggerating here. You appear to be adhering to a mentality I've seen amongst South American soccer fans (including Argentines), a mentality expressed in the words "it was a set up/ the game was bought." If Argentina wins in 2010 (a result I openly admit I do not wish for), it will be because it plays well enough to win it all. If your team has been pre-selected to emerge victorious next year, I will stop following the game - and not because it'd be a rival of my Brazil winning it all, but rather, because of the farce that this would be. And not just your team, but for ANY team to win it all in this fashion, would be nothing short of fraud. As for S. Africa hosting the 2010 World Cup, it was politics and the desire for a continental rotation, and I'm still worried about S. Africa's hosting capabilities. But they did once host an international rugby tournament and it went fairly well.
Re: Two month ban for Maradona que decision mas acomodada: es el mismo tiempo que diego pidio a la AFA para sus vacaciones! lo que si deja claro la sancion, es que bilardo y grondona lo apoyaran en el 2010, de no ser asi dejan que le metan los 4 o 5 juegos oficiales de sancion.
Re: Two month ban for Maradona I think some games are bought to some extent, but I wouldn't say its decided before hand. It's more subtle. AKA, if there was a playoff between China and Bahrain, China would get more calls etc. The WC selection process is so corrupt it's transparent, everyone knew it was going to africa, and everyone knew it was going to a south american team next, and I think everyone will figure out it will go to a european country after that.
Re: Two month ban for Maradona I'm half exagerrating and half being serious but as time passes I'm being more and more serious. This is the very dilemma I'm facing myself. Imagine that the joy of winning the WORLD CUP and at the same time the absolute disgust that I would feel knowing it was completely setup. Grondona put Sepp in power by garnering the support of the African delegation. In return they were granted a WC. South Africa was considered an iffy proposition until last March. They were even concerned about the economic viability of the tournament. This is where Maradona comes in. He's very popular in Africa and his participation in the tournament helps increase its importance amongst the South Africans. It's a numbers game at the end of the day. Unfortunately they are doing a poor job at covering it up. Just think about it. Would you've ever imagined Maradona getting a slap on the wrist by FIFA? They have always slaughtered him, why should now be any different? This is just another sign that something is up. Yeah it sounds a little off of the wall but the truth usually presents itself as such.