Maradona lashes out at Al Ahli for unsporting behaviour

Dubai Diego Maradona blasted Al Ahli for resorting to foul sportsmanship in their ill-tempered 1-0 win against Al Wasl in the semi-finals of the etisalat Cup here late on Sunday. "It looks like Al Ahli under Quique Flores has changed their tactics. They kept on falling to the ground at every given opportunity and this is not football. Their constant falling only broke the rhythm of the match and stopped the flow of football even though we were playing so well," Maradona said. "Both teams had equal chances and we should have actually won by at least four goals if we had scored from the chances that came our way," he lamented. Al Wasl goalkeeper Majid Nasser did not help things a bit when he picked up arguments with Al Ahli's Brazilian striker Grafite and then went and slapped coach Quique Flores Sanchez in full view of the spectators much after the final whistle had been blown. Article continues below But Maradona was unapologetic about his defeat that eventually all but ended his chance to win some trophy this season. "When Al Wasl defeated Al Ahli 4-0 [in the President's Cup match on December 18], I was the one who encouraged Quique Flores to hold his ground and keep on trying. But it looks like Al Ahli has changed their tactics during the match and Quique Flores seems to have forgotten how to encourage his players to play the beautiful game like he did at Atletico Madrid and other clubs that he coached," the Argentinean said. "This is the ugly side of football. I will tell Quique when I meet him. This is very sad," he added. Maradona sought to remind the Al Ahli coach of the support he lent him after the Al Ghusais side suffered a 4-0 humiliation at the hands of Al Wasl earlier this season. "I was the only coach who told him to carry on with his re-building of the team. We won 4-0 then and now I see that the only thing he [Quique] has taught his players is to fall to the ground at the slightest push," Maradona fumed. "After watching today's match it looks like Al Ahli is the only club that suffers from muscle strains and cramps in the UAE." Sunday's loss cancelled out Maradona's chances of winning any silverware this season. His team is out of the President's Cup and they lie in fifth place in the etisalat Pro League. The Argentinean remained unmoved. "There is nothing to celebrate about after this loss. But this is not the end of the journey for us. We have done what we can and we will continue building up this team," Maradona said. From gulfnews