Maradona rumours continue to fly

Al Wasl officials have once again been forced to play down rumours of an early exit for high-profile coach Diego Maradona following a tumultuous evening on Wednesday. Argentinian legend Maradona saw his team surprisingly beaten 4-2 at home by mid-table Ajman in the Etisalat Pro League, before failing to show for the post-match press conference. The club put his non-appearance down to a ‘technical problem' in the media centre, but journalists were still able to interview Maradona's Ajman counterpart Abdul Wahab Abdul Kader and some of the visiting players. There was no sign of Maradona, who issued an ultimatum to the Al Wasl board to give him more funds for transfers within an hour after the matc An Al Wasl official yesterday insisted that neither a resignation nor the sacking of Maradona was imminent. "These are just rumours, but Maradona will be meeting with the chairman [Marwan Bin Byat] to have a fresh look at priorities for the team," he said. On Wednesday night, an Al Wasl official told the media: "There is a technical problem with the sound system and we cannot have the press conferences for both the coaches. The facilities are not in place. "We are addressing the issue to ensure such a thing does not happen again in the future." League rules As per the rules of the Professional League Committee (PLC) and Asian Football Confederation (AFC), each club is required to have pre and post-match conferences. The pre-match conference, on Monday night, was used to iron out reported differences between Al Wasl's management and Maradona. And on Wednesday afternoon, at the announcement of a sponsorship deal in a city hotel, Bin Byat sought to clear the air by stating Maradona had been told to concentrate on the technical side and leave the money aspect to officials. The press officer appointed by the Professional League Committee for the match was left with very little to say when asked about the cancellation of the post-match conference. "The club avails of facilities for the post-match conference in the London Suites Hotel and the ballroom was not made available to us," he said.