Rio de Janeiro (Brazil): He has charmed football fans all over the world and now chats up celebrities on his TV show. But on Thursday Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona had to charm the cops to get back home.
He was detained at Rio de Janeiro airport on Thursday after he tried to force his way onto a flight that he was late for, police and a Brazilian airline said.
Police held Maradona for several hours in the morning before releasing him. He boarded a flight to Buenos Aires on Thursday afternoon.
In Buenos Aires, the Argentine star denied he turned violent but admitted he shouted insults at a security guard who Maradona said had pointed a gun at his face.
"All of a sudden, five armed policemen appear and I didn't understand a thing because one (of the police officers) comes over and tells me that we were causing damages. I say, 'Look, I'm sitting down. I didn't do any damage," he said.
"We missed our plane. The biggest thing we did was miss our plane.' He says to me, 'No, no, no, you did damage here' and he puts his pistol here."
"Brother, you're going to kill me because I missed the plane? See, there's no damage, nothing.' And well, later, yes, I do acknowledge that I said, 'Fire (the weapon) f*****, fire f*****. The truth is, I'm tired of you," he said.
Maradona, plagued by health problems since he retired in 1997, had played a benefit game organised by ex-Brazilian star and current Japan coach Zico in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.
He arrived late at Tom Jobim International Airport for a flight back to Argentina and began arguing with the staff of Brazilian airline TAM, police said.
The airline said the boarding gate was closed when Maradona and four companions arrived. They damaged a door in the passageway to the plane and forced open a second door before police arrived, the airline said in a statement.
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