Maradona’s ‘performance’ has many wondering if he’s still on drugs

The performance of Argentina’s greatest football legend in the stands was almost more of a talking point on Tuesday night in St Petersburg, Russia, than his country’s hard-fought win over Nigeria.

The embattled Argentina had to beat Africa’s Super Eagles and hope Iceland didn’t beat Croatia if they hoped to progress. That’s exactly how it played out, though it was close in both games and could have gone quite differently.

In the stands, Maradona was variously in states of ecstasy and frustration throughout, though at one point he also seemed to have briefly fallen asleep.

Ever flamboyant and vulgar, the Maradona-loving cameras had to quickly cut away at one point when the living legend decided to flip the bird in celebration of his victorious team.

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However, some felt that Maradona is just a bit weird, and actually not on drugs.

Although he is considered the greatest footballer of all time, Maradona is also one of the sport’s most infamous personas. His problems with cocaine began in the 1980s after a move to the Italian club Napoli.

During his time there, he was fined more $70,000 for missing both practices and games. He drew rebukes from his club over cocaine use and weight gain. In 1986, cameras captured him snorting cocaine after scoring a penalty in a game in California.

Maradona failed his first drug test in March of 1991, earning a 15-month ban and a disgraceful exit from Italian football.

In 1994, shortly before Argentina’s final group match against Bulgaria, Maradona was kicked out of the World Cup and banned for 15 months after testing positive once more.

Michel d’Hooghe, a doctor and member of Fifa’s executive committee said at the time that “Maradona must have taken a cocktail of drugs because the five identified substances are not found in one medicine.”

His behaviour on Tuesday night suggested that his long battle with narcotics may not be over, and this perception hasn’t been helped by footage of him drinking on a private jet with a suspicious-looking plastic bag filled with a white substance next to him. This footage may be a few years old since Maradona has more grey hair these days.

One thing is certain, Maradona will be at the next Argentina game on Saturday against France, even if they have to carry him in (and out of) there on a stretcher.