CELEBRITY
FUNERAL WORKER FIRED FOR POSING WITH MARADONA’S BODY
A funeral worker who took a selfie next to the open casket of Argentine football icon Diego Maradona as his body lay in state in Buenos Aires has been fired.
The images, which were shared widely online, sparked international outrage – including death threats.
Claudio Fernandez told Radio Diez on Friday that he had lost his job at the Sepelios Pinier funeral home, along with his son Ismael and a third man.
In one image, a man can be seen giving a thumbs-up to the camera with one hand, while the other appears to be touching the forehead of the late World Cup winner.
A third funeral worker appears in another photo in the same pose.
Fernandez said they hadn’t planned to take the photo. “It was something instantaneous. I’d just raised my head and my son did it like any kid of 18,” he told the radio station.
He said he had received threats from others living in the El Paternal neighbourhood where Maradona debuted as a professional in 1976 with the Argentinos Juniors team.
“They know me. I’m from the neighbourhood,” he said. “They say they are going to kill us, break our heads.”
He said he knew the footballer’s family, and that it was not his intention to show any disrespect, and asked for everyone’s forgiveness.
The club issued a statement saying it was considering expelling Mr Fernandez from its membership.
The three were hired by the funeral parlour to help prepare Maradona’s body and carry the coffin, according to Argentinian TV channel TN.
It said the manager Matias Picon was “devastated” and claimed the trio were not directly employed by them, and that they were “outsourced” by a third party.
Mr Picon told TN: “The family trusted us, we have been working with them for a long time. My father is 75-years-old and he is crying, I am crying, my brother too, we are destroyed.”
Venting his anger on Twitter, Maradona’s lawyer Matias Morla wrote on Friday: “I am going to personally take care of finding the scoundrel who took that photograph.
“For the memory of my friend I will not rest until I pay for such an aberration. All those responsible for such an act of cowardice will pay.”
Thousands of fans lined the streets of the city to pay their respects to the football legend, sparking clashes after many were unable to get a glimpse of the coffin.
Only family members and close friends attended the burial, and Maradona was laid to rest next to the graves of his parents, Dalma and Diego.
-Skynews
Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first footballer to reach billionaire status, according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which has valued the Portugal great’s net worth at an estimated $1.4 billion.
The 40-year-old striker’s financial ascent comes after he signed a new contract with Saudi side Al-Nassr in June reportedly worth more than $400 million.
Bloomberg said that Ronaldo earned more than $550 million in salary between 2002 and 2023, supplemented by a decade-long Nike deal worth nearly $18 million annually, and lucrative endorsements with Armani, Castrol and others that added more than $175 million to his fortune.
Ronaldo’s move to Al-Nassr from Manchester United in 2023 had already made him the highest-paid player in football history, with an annual salary of 177 million pounds ($237.52 million), plus bonuses and a reported 15% share in his Saudi Arabia club.
Argentina and Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi has earned more than $600 million in pre-tax salary during his career.
Ronaldo’s billionaire status places him among a rare group of athletes that includes basketball greats Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and LeBron James, golfer Tiger Woods and tennis player Roger Federer.
Ronaldo suggested he is not considering retirement any time soon.
“I still have a passion for this,” he said at the Portugal Football Globes gala on Tuesday. “My family says it’s time to quit and they ask me why I want to score 1000 goals if I’ve already scored 900-something. But I don’t think that way inside.
“I’m still producing good things, I’m helping my club and the national team. Why not continue? I am sure that when I finish I will leave full because I gave everything of myself. I know I don’t have many years left to play, but the few I have left, I have to enjoy them to the fullest.”
-Reuters
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Former England soccer captain David Beckham and actor Gary Oldman were knighted in King Charles’ annual birthday honours list on Saturday, while sculptor Antony Gormley was made a Companion of Honour.
Beckham, 50, joined Manchester United as a trainee in 1993, going on to make almost 400 appearances for the club where he won a string of titles and cups.
He subsequently played for Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, and Inter Milan, as well as captaining his country 58 times and making 115 appearances.
His marriage to fashion designer and former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham in 1999 cemented a celebrity status which went far beyond his sporting exploits.
Oldman, 67, started his career on the stage, where he was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, before rising to prominence in film. He won the best actor Oscar for playing Winston Churchill in the 2017 drama “Darkest Hour”.
He also had roles in the “Dark Knight Trilogy” and the “Harry Potter” movie series and more recently starred in the TV spy drama “Slow Horses”.
Other famous names receiving honours included damehoods for musical theatre star Elaine Paige, novelist Pat Barker and ceramics maker Emma Bridgewater.
Roger Daltrey, lead singer of rock band the Who and a patron of the Teenage Cancer Trust, received a knighthood for services to charity.
More than 1,200 people received honours for their achievements, with a particular focus on those who had given their time to public service, the government said.
King Charles’ official birthday will be celebrated with the annual “Trooping the Colour” military parade in London on Saturday. His actual birthday is on November 14
-Reuters
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One of three judges in Diego Maradona’s closely scrutinized homicide trial in Argentina resigned on Tuesday amid a scandal triggered by the alleged filming of an unauthorised documentary, bringing uncertainty to the future of legal proceedings.
The high-profile trial over the death of soccer star Maradona began on March 11 in the South American country where the World Cup winner is still revered.
-Reuters
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