Football legend Diego Maradona defended himself on Tuesday after making an obscene gesture on television against Italy's tax agency which says he owes the state 39 million euros ($53 million).
"There was a misunderstanding, I did not mean to offend. I only want justice," Maradona said after his vulgar hand move on Sunday caused outrage -- even from Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta.
"It is a really popular gesture but without ill will," said the Argentine icon, who used to play for Napoli, adding: "I have never run away and I am not looking for a deal... I only want justice.
Letta said earlier: "I did not like it at all. People who pay taxes should be respected and they are honest Italians but a lot of people, like Maradona, do the sod-off gesture."
Italian tax agents on Friday served Maradona with papers over the 39-million-euro debt that the feisty Argentinian disputes.
Maradona's tax woes go back to when he played for Napoli between 1984 and 1991. He says he was only thinking of football and got bad advice.
A final ruling in January this year from a court in Naples has now made the sentence against him definitive and his assets could be seized by Italian authorities if he had any in Italy, although he is free to visit the country.
Maradona scored 115 goals in 259 games with Napoli, where he is still adored to this day. With him on the team, Napoli won their only two Italian league titles in 1987 and 1990.
He also won the World Cup with Argentina in 1986.
The former cocaine addict is now a roving sports ambassador for the United Arab Emirates following his departure from local club Al Wasl in 2012.
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http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/131022/maradona-defends-obscene-gesture-at-italian-tax-agency
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