WORLD OF SPORT
Biggest cheek of the day
Diego Maradona has backed the use of video assistant referees (VARs) in football even though he is aware that his infamous “Hand of God” goal would not have stood if the technology had existed during his heyday. The goal during the 1986 World Cup quarter-final between Argentina and England is one of the most talked about in the history of football, alongside his brilliant solo run past five defenders in the same game that gave his side a 2-1 victory. “Obviously I think about it whenever I show my support for the use of technology,” Maradona said in an interview posted on Fifa’s website yesterday. “I thought about it and, sure, that goal wouldn’t have stood if technology had been around. And I’ll tell you something else: at the 1990 World Cup I used my hand to clear the ball off the line against the Soviet Union. We were lucky because the referee didn’t see it. You couldn’t use technology back then, but it’s a different story today.”
Best declaration of the day
Ending weeks of speculation about his future, Cristiano Ronaldo has told a Spanish newspaper he is staying put at Real Madrid to win more silverware. “To win important trophies with my club and the personal honours last season was brilliant, to do it again would be nice,” Ronaldo told the sports daily Marca in an interview from Shanghai, where he is in China on promotional duties for the club. Ronaldo’s declaration of intent to remain at the Bernabeu for the upcoming season comes despite rumours of his departure which surfaced last month in Portuguese newspaper O Globo. Those reports were founded on his apparent feeling of abandonment by his club over his run-in with the Spanish tax authorities.
Best headline of the day
Brazilian midfielder Wellington Silva’s transfer to French club Bordeaux from Fluminense has been cancelled after he failed a medical, the Ligue 1 club announced yesterday. “Following a medical visit, Bordeaux decided not to complete the transfer of Wellington Silva,” the club said in a statement. Wellington, 24, arrived in western France last Sunday and had been due to be officially presented to the press yesterday. Obviously it is a shame for the former Brazil youth international, who was recruited by Arsenal in 2011 but could not play in England because of work permit problems. And how did Agence FrancePresse decide to headline their story? “Bordeaux give Wellington the boot”. Genius.