Al Wasl deny Maradona 'sacking'

Al Wasl Club have denied media reports claiming coach Diego Maradona has been sacked.



Local media had circulated news via Twitter.com on Sunday morning that Maradona’s dismissal had been confirmed.



But the club tweeted: “News concerning the sacking of Al Wasl coach Diego Mardona is incorrect. Must be noted.”



Maradona led his Al Wasl side to eighth in the UAE’s Etisalat Pro League this season and had crashed out of the Etisalat and Presidents Cup in the semi and quarter finals respectively. His hardest defeat came against Bahrain’s Al Muharraq in the GCC Champions League last week, when his side threw away a 3-1 first leg advantage to lose the title 5-4 on penalties.

Maradona sacked as coach of Al Wasl

Diego Maradona has been dismissed as coach of Al Wasl, according to local media.



Sky News Arabia tweeted at roughly 12.30pm Sunday that Maradona had been dismissed from coaching Al Wasl according to their sources. This news was closely followed by a tweet from Sharjah Sports TV citing their own sources.



The information was also tweeted by UAE Barq news service. So far Gulf News has not been able to independently verify the reports.



Maradona had led his Al Wasl side to eighth in the UAE’s Etisalat Pro League and had crashed out of the Etisalat and Presidents Cup in the semi and quarter finals respectively. His hardest defeat came against Al Muharraq in the GCC Champions League last week, when his side threw away a 3-1 first leg advantage to lose the title 5-4 on penalties.



The decision to sack Maradona has been made by a new board after the existing board resigned en masse on Thursday.

Goalkeeper banned for 17 games

A goalkeeper for Diego Maradona's Al Wasl club has been banned for 17 matches after attacking an opposition coach following a 1-0 loss to Al Alhi in the Etisalat Cup semifinals.



The United Arab Emirates Football Association imposed the lengthy ban after Majed Naser slapped Al Alhi coach Quique Sanches Flores on the back of the head following Sunday's defeat.



Al Wasl had already suspended Naser indefinitely. The UAE FA's disciplinary committee subsequently imposed the ban and fined Naser 30,000 dirhams ($8,167).



Al Wasl declined comment on the ban but issued a statement condemning the attack, saying “this type of behavior not only damages the reputation of the individual but is also detrimental to the image of the club.”