Maradona

Dubai: Diego Maradona was a fighter on the field in his playing days. The gritty Argentine never used to give up irrespective of the stature of the opposition and would always fight for his team.

The legend’s playing days are long on, but the fighting spirit is still burning bright.

On Thursday, Maradona had to be restrained by security staff after confronting opposition fans in the stands, who were shouting abuse towards wives and girlfriends of his Al Wasl players.

Maradona had to be escorted to his club’s dressing room by police after a melee broke out after Al Wasl’s contentious 0-2 defeat to Al Shabab.

Fans watching the match from a VIP area got into a verbal disagreement with rival supporters. The group, which included Maradona’s partner as well as the girlfriend of player Juan Mercier, was said to have been upset with the actions of Shabab’s Brazilian striker Ciel.

The argument escalated and both Maradona and Mercier ran into the stands to protect their partners before police stepped in to calm the situation.

“(The Shabab fans) are cowards,” Maradona said. “They only attack women and have no courage to confront men.

“We accept everything in football, but do not accept men swearing at women.

“I accept defeat, but I am not happy with what happened against the fans tonight (Thursday night),” Maradona continued.

“Any fans upset by this should know that I was only there to defend my wife and I am only against the people who were directly insulting my wife.”

The dispute started when Al Wasl fans started heckling Ciel, who set up the first goal and scored the second.

Maradona has been involved in contentious incidents since signing a two-year contract with the United Arab Emirates club in May. He has warned he would quit if the club doesn’t increase its budget for players next season, had run-ins with rival coaches and seen his goalkeeper banned for 17 games for slapping an opposition coach.

Meanwhile, Maradona’s arrival has yet to lift the club from a disappointing season.

The 1986 World Cup-winning Argentine was expected to elevate the club back to the top. Instead, they sit in the fifth place, 15 points behind league leader Al Ain, with only a month-and-a-half of the season to go. It also has been knocked out of several cup competitions and Maradona has conceded Al Wasl has little chance of picking up any silverware this season.