Maradona bursts out Fifa is run by 'dinosaurs'

Corruption and match-fixing scandals that have undermined Fifa will continue as long as the sport's governing body is run by "dinosaurs," football great Diego Maradona claimed on Saturday.

The Argentine, in Dubai to sign a two-year contract to coach local Al Wasl club, said the sport's governing body had been badly run over the years. He attacked Wednesday's re-election of President Sepp Blatter "who has never kicked a football" and what he called the "arrogance" of all its executives.

"When you have so much power, you can do so many stupid things as is happening in FIFA," Maradona said. "Every day, there is corruption, match fixing scandals. This is not football. We are not talking about football here. This is not something that people who watch football deserve."

Maradona said it was "no surprise" that Blatter was re-elected to a fourth four-year term, saying the 75-year-old Swiss and other executives will remain in office for as long as they can.

"Unfortunately in FIFA, we have a museum, a big museum," he said.

"They are dinosaurs who don't want to give up power," Maradona said. "This Blatter being re-elected, that is not something unique. People like us know what is going on."

He did not elaborate.

Maradona is the latest big name player or football executive to take aim at FIFA, which has seen its credibility damaged in recent months by an unprecedented string of match-fixing cases and corruption allegations swirling around the 2018 and '22 World Cup bids. It culminated last week when Blatter's only challenger for the presidency, Mohamed bin Hammam, withdrew from the race amid bribery allegations which he denies.

Just as Maradona's press conference was ending, FIFA announced it was investigating Argentina's 4-1 loss in Nigeria on Wednesday after betting patterns suggested it was targeted by match fixers.

Maradona said it would be best for football if Blatter and other FIFA executives — like his longtime opponent Julio Grondona, president of the Argentine Football Association — resigned but doubted it would ever happen.

"They are going to look after themselves, look after their backs," he said. "They will stay until they are 105 and 110 and football unfortunately will be the same."

Maradona, 50, agreed last month to coach the little-known Al Wasl club in the Gulf. He hasn't coached since leading Argentina to the World Cup quarterfinals last year.

Dressed in a black shirt and smiling at the crowd of nearly 100 reporters, Maradona insisted he had come to Dubai to work with the goal of bringing the club a championship next year. Al Wasl currently is tied for fourth place which means it can still qualify for a spot in next year's Asian Champions League.

The Dubai club has not provided any details of the contract and Maradona denied reports he is being paid $10 million.

Maradona declined to name players he hopes to sign for the club, only promising to focus on acquiring young talent with a desire to win. He said he would not follow the lead of other Gulf clubs in acquiring big name veterans because he didn't want Al Wasl to become "a grave full of white elephants."

Last year, another UAE club Al Ahli signed former Juventus captain Fabio Cannavaro but he incurred several injuries and the club has struggled.

"Today, I feel the same challenge, the same way as I felt when I was coaching the national team," said Maradona, who leads his first match in September. "If we work hard with a good team, we can make history. This is something my players have to understand. If someone doesn't understand that, surely he will not play."

Maradona was captain when Argentina won the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, before retiring in 1997.

Before taking over as coach of Argentina in 2008, he had coached only Deportivo Mandiyu in 1994 and Racing Club in 1995. In both cases, he left before his contract was up.

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