Police have seized Diego Maradona's earrings - as part payment for the millions he owes the Italian taxman.
Maradona handed over the diamond studs while staying at a luxury hotel in Italy
Officials in the country paid the holidaying Argentinean football coach a visit, and seized the jewellery worth nearly £4,000.
They claim he still owes some £20m, dating back to his seven-year stint at the Italian club Napoli, when he frequently failed to pay income tax.
Maradona, 48, is currently staying at a spa in the town of Merano in north-eastern Italy, where he is trying to lose weight.
The Henri Chenot clinic was not available for comment.
Maradona fled Buenos Aires on Monday after four defeats in five matches left Argentina little hope of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.
In 2006, while staying near Naples prior to a charity match, Italian authorities took two of his Rolex watches worth £11,000.
In 2005, they seized the money he was to receive for taking part in a TV dancing show.
Four years earlier, he was met by 20 police officers as he got off a plane in Rome.
Italy's Supreme Court ordered the ex-footballer to pay 36 million euros in unpaid taxes.
According to the association of Italian taxpayers, Maradona still has 22.4 million euros to pay.
This week, Brazil legend Pele took a swipe at Maradona - saying he feels another Argentine-born player, Alfredo di Stefano, is the best player ever.
"Maradona was a great player, but he could not kick with his right foot and did not score goals with his head," he added.
"The only time he scored an important goal with his head, it turned out he had used his hand."
Pele was referring to Maradona's infamous "hand of God" goal in Argentina's 2-1 win over England during the 1986 World Cup, when he fooled the referee by punching the ball into the net.
No comments:
Post a Comment