Heartbroken Diego Maradona fans clash with riot cops as family stops them viewing his coffin after just 12 hours
THE funeral of football legend Diego Maradona was marred by riots as passion and grief boiled over yesterday.
Violence erupted after the three-day mourning period announced for fans to pay their respects was cut short and his funeral was brought forward at the request of his family.
Maradona was laid to rest next to his parents Dalma and Diego at the Jardin de Paz cemetery in the capital Thursday.
A small group of family and friends carried his casket with the flag of Argentina draped over it into the cemetery.
But earlier yesterday, heartbroken fans clashed with police as they scrambled to get a glimpse of the ex-Napoli star’s casket.
Grief and passion boiled over as crowds broke through barriers and brawled with riot police near the presidential palace.
The footie legend’s coffin was set to be on display for public viewing for a three-day period so fans could pay their respects to the national treasure.
But at 6pm yesterday his family requested his body be moved for burial, infuriating the thousands of fans who had queued for hours to say their goodbyes.
Mourners who became impatient with the wait lobbed bottles, bricks and bits of metal fencing as cops tried to control the crowd using tear gas and rubber bullets.
The wild scenes saw fans grapple with armour-clad riot cops.
Fist fights and wrestling matches broke out amongst the crowds as officials joined scrums in an attempt to pull hysterical mourners apart.
Helmet-wearing, gun-toting riot cops were seen restraining some of the rowdiest mourners, with one picture showing an officer pinning a man to the floor with his knee.
Crowds clamoured round cars, rocking them from side to side.
One shirtless man was seen, fists raised, ready to plunge head-first into a wall of riot shields.
And hordes of tearful fans surrounded a white hearse, desperately hoping for a glimpse of their hero’s final journey through the capital.
Tens of thousands of Argentines took to the streets to mourn him, leaving flowers and messages at his childhood home and at Boca Juniors’ stadium.
Maradona became a star in Buenos Aires with Boca Juniors and went on to be a national hero and cultural icon in Argentina – inspiring his country to win the 1986 World Cup.
President Alberto Fernandez decreed three days of mourning in the wake of the death of the legendary player of a suspected heart attack aged 60, on Wednesday.
“His unparalleled footballing skill transformed him into one of the best-known people in the world,” said the official mourning decree.
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It continued: “[He] crossed frontiers and [was] universally recognized as the world’s best player.”
Maradona’s body lay in a wooden coffin with the blue and white national flag and an Argentina soccer jersey with the famous number 10.
It had been part of his nickname “D10S” – a play on “dios”, the Spanish word for God.
“He was someone who touched the sky with his hands but never took his feet off the ground,” President Fernandez said on Wednesday.
Hundreds of fans also congregated at other landmarks associated with Maradona.
They gathered outside the home where he was born in the Villa Fiorito neighbourhood, Argentinos Juniors’ stadium – where he began his career – La Bombonera stadium, the home of one of Boca Juniors.
Some also headed to the headquarters of Gimnasia, the Argentinian club in La Plata where he was head coach before he died.
Major athletes and world leaders, including Argentine Pope Francis, have paid tribute to Maradona – whose appeal and personality transcended football.
A 2005 television clip circulated in local media on Wednesday in which Maradona shared what he would say at his own funeral.
“Thank you for having played football, because it is the sport that gave me the most joy, the most freedom,” Maradona said.
“It is like touching the sky with my hands. Thanks to the ball.”
Meanwhile, all schools in Naples were closed yesterday in honour of their former player.
As emotional fans gathered outside Napoli’s football ground, the San Paolo stadium, the club’s president Aurelio De Laurentiis admitted he could change its name to commemorate its best ever star.
Fans flooded into the streets of the city’s Spanish Quarters, many of them lighting a candle beneath a huge mural of the Argentine in his sky-blue jersey.
“Ciao, God of Football,” read paper signs affixed to the walls of the working class neighbourhood by fans.
Others lined the streets with flowers, candles and messages and beautiful murals were seen on walls across the city’s neighbourhoods.
Emotional fans also gathered at Napoli’s San Paolo ground, where they left scarves, candles, photos and shirts in tribute to their hero.
