The war of words that erupted between <a href="gopher://topicL3RoZW5hdGlvbmFsL09yZ2FuaXNhdGlvbnMvU3BvcnRzIHRlYW1zL1VBRSBmb290YmFsbCB0ZWFtcy9BbCBXYXNs" inlink="topic::L3RoZW5hdGlvbmFsL09yZ2FuaXNhdGlvbnMvU3BvcnRzIHRlYW1zL1VBRSBmb290YmFsbCB0ZWFtcy9BbCBXYXNs">Al Wasl</a> and <a href="gopher://topicL3RoZW5hdGlvbmFsL09yZ2FuaXNhdGlvbnMvU3BvcnRzIHRlYW1zL1VBRSBmb290YmFsbCB0ZWFtcy9BbCBBaW4=" inlink="topic::L3RoZW5hdGlvbmFsL09yZ2FuaXNhdGlvbnMvU3BvcnRzIHRlYW1zL1VBRSBmb290YmFsbCB0ZWFtcy9BbCBBaW4=">Al Ain</a> on Saturday night continued to gather pace yesterday, with <a href="gopher://topicL3RoZW5hdGlvbmFsL1Blb3BsZS9TcG9ydCBzdGFycy9Gb290YmFsbGVycy9EaWVnbyBNYXJhZG9uYQ==" inlink="topic::L3RoZW5hdGlvbmFsL1Blb3BsZS9TcG9ydCBzdGFycy9Gb290YmFsbGVycy9EaWVnbyBNYXJhZG9uYQ==">Diego Maradona</a> and Cosmin Olaroiu, the head coaches, at the centre of the dispute. The feud escalated when Al Wasl issued a press release denouncing the actions of the Al Ain coach and fans and calling on the Football Association to issue sanctions against their fellow <a href="gopher://topicL3RoZW5hdGlvbmFsL1N1YmplY3RzL1VBRSBQcm8gTGVhZ3VlIDIwMTEtMTI=" inlink="topic::L3RoZW5hdGlvbmFsL1N1YmplY3RzL1VBRSBQcm8gTGVhZ3VlIDIwMTEtMTI=">Pro League</a> club. Al Wasl claimed Olaroiu and his assistants celebrated in a disrespectful manner following Al Ain's goal in their 1-0 win, that Olaroiu attacked Maradona's personal life in his post-game press conference, and that Al Ain fans pelted the Al Wasl supporters with stones after the match. The Dubai club yesterday called the behaviour "unacceptable". Al Ain responded by defending their fans. "The Al Ain fans didn't misbehave or throw abuse at the Wasl coach or the team. If we had, we could have been punished by the match commissioner," a club spokesman said yesterday. "It is true the fans chanted Maradona's name, but they didn't in anyway insult him." Last season, the FA took away two home games from Al Ain because of bad behaviour by their fans. The controversy began when Maradona criticised Olaroiu's behaviour during the match, calling him "quite rude" and saying "he should learn some manners". Olaroiu wasted no time responding, citing Maradona's former substance abuse and even taking him to task for his attire on the sideline. Maradona also accused the Al Ain players of intentionally trying to injure Mariano Donda, the Al Wasl midfielder. "Why would I ask my players to kick Donda, are you crazy? I am surprised of his [Maradona] behaviour during the match that was not met by any response from the referee," Olaroiu said. "Who is Maradona as a coach? He should respect his work and should never come to matches by wearing short pants." Olaroiu's actions during the match drew a red card from the match official, but he said it was not deserved. Yesterday, Ahmed Khalifa, the Al Wasl media officer, said Al Ain fans were again at fault. "Al Wasl is upset at the inconveniences that were suffered by Maradona and Wasl fans from a group of Al Ain fans who surprisingly attacked by throwing stones at them and their cars, and even physically attacking a few," he said. "This kind of behaviour is unacceptable. "Commenting about Maradona's personal life, past and history, is unacceptable and is irrelevant to any matter that is currently at hand. It is very surprising that a professional coach like Cosmin, who has a lot of experience in the game, would say something like this. We urge that from now on, he stick to what goes on during the match." The FA said yesterday they will investigate the incident. "There is a process we have to follow," said Salem Al Naqbi, an FA spokesman. "We are aware of an incident that took place during and after the game, and the competition committee will look into it." Follow <strong>The National Sport </strong> on & Amith Pasella on
