DUBAI, June 4, (Agencies): Diego Maradona branded FIFA bosses ‘dinosaurs’ on Saturday and said the world soccer body was run by men who did not understand the game and were intent on clinging to power.
The Argentine great, appearing at his first news conference as coach of United Arab Emirates’ side Al Wasl, was dismissive of this week’s unopposed re-election of 75-year-old Sepp Blatter as FIFA president for another four years.
“Everything will be the same...FIFA is a big museum and they are dinosaurs who do not want to give up power,” said the man who coached his country to the quarter-finals of last year’s World Cup in South Africa.
“I’m not surprised Blatter was re-elected because they look after themselves. They will stay until they are 105 years old,” he added. “I hope they will resign but don’t be under any illusions that they will.
“I have been asked to be part of the FIFA family but I said it is not a family if no-one plays football,” said Maradona.
“Many people agree with me that many things are not clear in football these days and it is not something people who watch football deserve. The situation will be the same while football is run by people who do not understand football.”
Blatter was re-elected to a fourth and final mandate after his Qatari opponent Mohamed Bin Hammam withdrew from the race amid cash-for-votes allegations.
Maradona flew in to Dubai late on Friday to sign a two-year contract with Al Wasl, a side that has won seven national titles but none since 2007.
Saturday’s news conference at a five-star hotel on the Palm Jumeirah, a man-made island in the shape of a palm tree off the coast of Dubai, was attended by around 100 reporters and more than 20 television crews.
Those numbers, with journalists from as far afield as Spain and Japan, contrasted with the usual handful of media in attendance for most matches in the 12-team national league.
Al Wasl’s average home crowd at league matches this season is 3,360, with fewer than 1,000 at three of their home matches.
Maradona is due to watch his new team in action on Sunday night when they play Sharjah as part of the final round of matches, before taking charge ahead of the new season which begins in September.
Meanwhile, FIFA is investigating Argentina’s 4-1 loss in Nigeria on Wednesday after betting patterns suggested it was targeted by match fixers.
It’s the highest profile match yet in a wave of suspicious recent international friendlies, often with goals scored from penalty kicks.
The match “was one that we had an active interest in, and forms part of a wider ongoing FIFA investigation,” football’s world governing body said on Saturday.
FIFA was “working closely” with its betting monitoring agency Early Warning System which tracks wagers placed with more than 400 operators worldwide.
Hours before kick off in Abuja on Wednesday, FIFA President Sepp Blatter launched his “Zero Tolerance” campaign to stop corruption in football.
FIFA’s 208 member nations in Zurich also passed new rules to control the organization of international matches, including the power to veto referee appointments.
Referee Ibrahim Chaibou of Niger awarded two penalties — one to each side — in Wednesday’s game between two teams who played each other at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Nigeria took a 2-0 lead with a 26th minute spot-kick after Chaibou awarded a foul against Argentina defender Federico Fazio.
Five minutes of stoppage time were announced at the end of the match, with play continuing until the 98th minute when Argentina scored with a penalty kick from Mauro Boselli.
Argentina fielded a below-strength lineup without star forwards such as Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain and Angel di Maria.
However, there was no suggestion that players from either team were involved in manipulating the match.
Nigeria Football Federation spokesman Ademola Olajire told The Associated Press he had no knowledge of a FIFA investigation.
Chaibou is one of the most experienced FIFA-approved referees with 15 years’ service on the international list. He was born in 1966 and must step down this year on reaching FIFA’s referee age limit of 45.
As match-fixing investigations develop across the world, FIFA announced last month it would pay Interpol 20 million euros ($29 million) over the next 10 years to educate referees, players, coaches and officials in how to resist corruption.
“FIFA is currently receiving lots of information and cooperation across Europe, Asia, Africa and South and Central America, and as an organisation we are committed to tackling this problem in the most vigorous way possible,” the governing body said.