Sports
Football legend Diego Maradona dies of heart attack
Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona, has died of a heart attack at the age 60.
He died at home on Wednesday, according to his lawyer, Matias Morlahas, barely two weeks after having surgery on a blot clot in his brain.
The Argentine news outlet Clarin broke the news on Wednesday afternoon, describing the news of Maradona’s passing as having a ‘worldwide impact’.
The sad news was later confirmed by Maradona’s lawyer. Soon, tributes were pouring in from all over the world of football.
Maradona left hospital on November 11 just eight days after he was admitted for emergency brain surgery.
The iconic former Argentinian footballer was driven away from the private Olivos Clinic just before 6pm on November 11 as hundreds of fans of photographers tried to get a glimpse of him.
Maradona was hospitalised the previous week and had to have an emergency operation to remove a blood clot from his brain.
Argentinian TV reporters travelling on motorbikes filmed the ambulance carrying him leaving before following the vehicle to transmit every inch of his journey.
His lawyer had said that the 60-year-old would continue to receive treatment for alcohol dependency.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time on the pitch, Maradona’s life off the pitch was equally notorious – amid battles with drug and alcohol addiction, dailymail.co.uk reports.
He won the World Cup with Argentina in 1986, having knocked England out of the tournament in a match which saw him score the famous ‘Hand of God’ goal.
Maradona, who was the coach of Gimnasia Esgrima in his home country, had been admitted to hospital on several occasions since his retirement.
He almost died of cocaine-induced heart failure in 2000 and underwent years of rehabilitation.
Maradona, who was well known for having a wild lifestyle during and after his playing days, had a gastric bypass operation to lose weight in 2005.
He also fell ill at the last World Cup in Russia, where he was filmed passing out in an executive box when Argentina beat Nigeria in Group D.
Maradona began taking cocaine in the mid-1980s – during the height of his playing days, going on to develop an addiction to drugs and alcohol over the next two decades.
His drug use began in 1982 and reportedly grew worse in 1984 when he moved to Napoli and had connections with the Comorra.
In 2014, Maradona said of his drug use: ‘I gave my opponents a big advantage. Do you know the player I could have been if I hadn’t taken drugs?’
His first real punishment came in 1991 when he was banned for 15 months by Napoli after testing positive for cocaine.
Later in the same year, he was arrested in Buenos Aires for possessing half a kilo of cocaine, and was given a 14-month suspended sentence.
In 1994, Maradona was back in the fold with the Argentina national team, making headlines around the world for a now-famous screaming celebration into the camera lens after a goal against Greece.
His tournament was to come to an early end, though, after he was expelled days later for testing positive for five variants of ephedrine, a banned substance. He was banned for 15 months, ending his international career.
In 1995, he moved to Boca Juniors but two years later, he failed a drugs test for the third time in six years, putting an end to his playing career.
Officially, a ‘prohibited substance’ is all that has been revealed about that test, but Boca President Mauricio Macri has said in interviews that cocaine was found in a urine sample.
In 1996, Maradona said publicly: ‘I was, am and always will be a drug addict.’
In 2000, the football legend suffered an overdose, and in 2004 he had a heart attack.
A year later, he was forced to have gastric bypass surgery, and in 2007 he was back in hospital again, this time suffering hepatitis.
It is then understood he stopped taking drugs, telling a journalist in 2017 that he hadn’t taken drugs for 13 years and was feeling ‘great’.
He has been drinking alcohol since 2004, though, hitting the headlines at the 2018 World Cup for his bizarre antics at a number of Argentina games.
A video emerged of him drinking tequila on a plane, and he claimed he ‘drank all the wine’ ahead of their win over Nigeria.
Sports
Lookman’s Atalanta beat Roma to move second in Serie A
Lookman’s Atalanta beat Roma to move second in Serie A
Atalanta continued their high-flying start in Serie A as they beat Roma to enter second.
Ademola Lookman struggled, but Atalanta coped without their starman shining as they beat Roma 2-0 to move within touching distance of league leaders Napoli.
Roma, seeking to revive their season after four losses in five league games, started brightly. Leandro Paredes’ early shot from outside the box forced Marco Carnesecchi into a sharp save, but the hosts’ promising start soon fizzled out. Clear-cut chances were scarce for both sides in the first-half, with Manu Kone’s strike from distance sailing narrowly wide.
Roma struggled to recover from this setback, and their fate was sealed when two former players combined to double Atalanta’s lead. Juan Cuadrado’s pinpoint delivery found Nicolo Zaniolo, who rifled a header into the back of the net, condemning Roma to another defeat.
Lookman’s Atalanta beat Roma to move second in Serie A
Sports
Liverpool beat Man City to go nine points clear at top
Liverpool beat Man City to go nine points clear at top
Liverpool extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to nine points and heaped more misery on fading champions Manchester City with a fully deserved victory at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s pace-setters, fresh from beating Champions League holders Real Madrid, were in rampant mood and subjected City to a relentless barrage from the kick-off.
Liverpool were not flattered by the margin of victory, which leaves them 11 points clear of Man City, who not won for seven matches – losing their past four league games.
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Virgil van Dijk had headed against the post – while City keeper Stefan Ortega, in for the dropped Ederson, had already been in constant action – before Liverpool went ahead after 12 minutes.
Mohamed Salah showed perfect vision to pick out Cody Gakpo for a simple finish in front of the Kop as City were unable to cope with Liverpool’s relentless attacking intensity.
Van Dijk headed wide when it seemed easier to score and the Reds created more chances when, as City hinted at a belated recovery, the league leaders deservedly increased their lead with 12 minutes left.
The Reds substitute Darwin Nunez hustled Ruben Dias into an error. Luis Diaz cashed in and was brought down by Ortega, with Salah making no mistake from the spot after missing against Real Madrid in midweek.
Liverpool beat Man City to go nine points clear at top
Sports
Dozens killed in crush at Guinea football match – reports
Dozens killed in crush at Guinea football match – reports
Dozens of people have died in a crush following clashes at a football match in Guinea’s second-largest city, N’zérékoré, local media report.
Prime Minister Mamadou Oury Bah said a stampede at the event led to a number of victims on Sunday and called for calm.
One doctor, who did not want to be named, told AFP news agency that there were several bodies “lined up” in the local hospital, and the morgue was full.
Local media said police used tear gas after supporters of the visiting team, Labé, threw stones towards the pitch in anger at the referee.
So far no official casualty figures have been given.
“It all started with a contested decision by the referee. Then fans invaded the pitch,” one witness told AFP.
Videos and images on social media appear to show chaotic scenes outside the stadium, with large crowds attempting to climb over walls and numerous bodies on the ground.
The BBC has not been able to independently verify these videos.
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Regional authorities are working to “restore calm”, Prime Minister Bah said in a statement, and added that hospitals are aiding the injured.
Thousands of spectators were present when the crush happened at a match between Guinean teams N’zérékoré and Labé, local news website MediaGuinee reported.
It said Sunday’s match was part of a tournament in honour of President Mamadi Doumbouya, who seized power in a coup in September 2021.
One of the worst massacres in Guinea’s history also took place in a stadium.
In 2009, 156 people were killed after troops opened fire at an opposition rally at a stadium in the capital, Conakry.
Many were shot, stabbed, beaten or crushed in a stampede as security forces fired teargas and charged into the stadium. Scores of women were also raped.
Former military ruler Moussa Dadis Camara was recently sentenced to 20 years in prison for crimes against humanity in connection with the massacre.
Dozens killed in crush at Guinea football match – reports
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