Maradona slams AFA chief, Sampaoli for Argentina's World Cup loss against Croatia
Sports Scene
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01:54
Argentine football legend Diego Maradona has lashed out at his country’s football association's chief as well as coach Jorge Sampaoli, after the national team lost to Croatia in their second group stage game.
The captain of the 1986 World Cup winning team lambasted both Claudio Fabián Tapia, the President of the Argentina Football Association (AFA), and coach Jorge Sampaoli, holding them responsible for the disastrous 0-3 defeat.
During the program ‘In the Hands of Ten’, broadcast by teleSUR, Maradona said it wasn’t Messi’s fault and the blame must go to Tapia and Sampaoli.
Argentina legend Maradona waves and dances during the FIFA World Cup 2018 Group D match at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium on June 21 /VCG Photo

Argentina legend Maradona waves and dances during the FIFA World Cup 2018 Group D match at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium on June 21 /VCG Photo

Meanwhile, the iconic footballer has strongly backed Messy and asserted that “Messi played what could play during the 90' minutes, why you have to pin the blame on Messi if it starts from the head which is AFA and the coaching staff.”
He argued that throughout the match, "Argentina did not have the ball possession at all.” 
The 57-year-old also remarked that Croatia looked "Clockwork Orange" with a fully controlled move in comparison to that of Argentina. 
He also reiterated that Nigeria’s victory over Iceland does not mean a reprieve for Argentina, since "the problem is not Nigeria here the problem is the team selection," he mentioned.