By Avellon Williams
ARGENTINA – A Cuban woman, 37, has accused Diego Maradona of violent acts and abuse, including rape, after having an affair with him when she was a minor 20 years ago.
The Argentina soccer legend met Mavys Alvarez Rego, now living in Miami, when she was 16, while he was living in Cuba undergoing treatment for drug addiction.
Maradona’s fan Alvarez Rego told reporters on Monday, “I was dazzled, he won me over, but after two months everything started to change.” She added that Maradona, who passed away a year ago, forced her to try cocaine, causing her to become dependent.
“I love him but I hated him too, I even thought about suicide,” she said.
Argentinean national hero Diego Maradona is regarded as one of the greatest footballers in history and is most fondly remembered for leading his country to victory at the 1986 World Cup.
After decades of battling cocaine and alcohol addictions, Maradona died last year after undergoing brain surgery on a blood clot.
Alvarez Rego, a mother of two children aged 15 and 4, said that she was abused by Maradona over a period of four to five years during her relations with him.
Rego claimed that Maradona had allegedly “raped” her one time while they were at their Havana home, and mentioned several other incidents where she had been physically abused.
Despite not having filed a complaint herself, Alvarez Rego is giving evidence to an Argentine prosecutor this week in connection with a complaint filed by an Argentine NGO.
In recent weeks, US media outlets reported on her confessions, which led the group “Foundation for Peace” to file its complaint.
Among the specific allegations in the complaints are human trafficking, deprivation of liberty, forces servitude, and assault and battery.
As the first anniversary of Diego Maradona’s death approaches on November 25, Alvarez Rego said that she was speaking out after many years of silence to balance some of the stories being told in a TV show about the Argentine. She indicated that she would not be pursuing any further proceedings.
”I have done what I had to do, the rest I leave to the courts,” she said. “I achieved my goal, to say what happened to me, to prevent it from happening to others, or at least so that other girls feel the strength, the courage to speak up.”
Alvarez Rego
Maradona’s entourage consists of five people who have been implicated in the scandal and have all denied any involvement.
WHO WAS DIEGO MARADONA?
Diego Armando Maradona Franco was a retired Argentine professional football player. He was widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time.
Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla, and Newell’s Old Boys during his club career, and represented Argentina at the international level. His playing style has been described by FIFA as “almost like an artist” who was “able to do almost anything with a ball”.
Maradona joint FIFA Player of the 20th Century with Pelé. He won FIFA World Cup Golden Ball in 1986 and 1990; he also won a bronze medal in the 1984 Olympics. In 1991 Maradona was appointed by UNICEF as its ambassador for Argentina.
Recent Comments