Tuesday, November 23, 2021
“Loved and hated at the same time”
Cuban woman accuses Maradona of rape
Diego Armando Maradona is arguably the greatest football idol in Latin America and beyond. The Argentine died about a year ago and left an extremely ambiguous legacy. Now a woman reports massive allegations against the football legend.
Shortly before the first anniversary of Diego Maradona’s death, a woman from Cuba made serious allegations against the football legend. The 37-year-old Mavys Álvarez Rego, who claims to have had an affair with Maradona as a minor 20 years ago, accused the Argentine national hero in Buenos Aires of abusing, raping and detaining her against her will.
Mavys Álvarez Rego went public with her allegations against the late Diego Maradona.
(Photo: picture alliance / dpa / AP)
Álvarez Rego, who now lives in Miami, Florida, told journalists that she met Maradona at the age of 16 when the then 40-year-old soccer star was undergoing drug therapy in Cuba. “I was blinded by him, he conquered me. But after two months everything changed,” she said.
Maradona urged her to try cocaine to make her dependent, Álvarez Rego said. The mother of two also claims to have been detained in a hotel for several weeks by employees of the soccer star during a trip with Maradona to Buenos Aires in 2001.
“Loved and hated at the same time”
She was also forced to have a breast augmentation. Maradona raped her once in her apartment in Havana. Álvarez Rego also reported several cases of physical violence. Your relationship with Maradona lasted four to five years, said Álvarez Rego. “I loved him and hated him at the same time,” she explained. At that time she thought of killing herself.
Álvarez Rego did not file a complaint himself, but testified this week to the public prosecutor in Buenos Aires in connection with a complaint by the Argentine organization Fundación Por la Paz. According to US media reports, the organization had filed charges against Maradona in Argentina. She accuses Maradona of human trafficking, imprisonment and assault, among other things.
Maradona is considered to be one of the best footballers of all time. The life of the former world champion was marked by ups and downs as well as drug and alcohol addiction after his active career. He died of a heart attack on November 25, 2020 at the age of 60.