Footballer refuses the minute of silence for Maradona: 'He was a rapist'

Paula Dapena, a 24-year-old footballer, refused to take part in the minute of silence dedicated to the death of Diego Armando Maradona. It happened in La Coruña, Spain, during a friendly women's soccer match between Deportivo Abanca and Viajes Interrias FF.

"I refused to honour that minute of silence for someone I call a rapist, podophile and harasser and I decided to sit on the field with my back turned. That's why I did it," said the young woman, who has always been involved in feminist battles.

The images that show her sitting on the ground with her back turned towards the grandstand, unlike her teammates, are going viral. After the match finished, the 24-year-old herself explained her motivations to the local media.

Dapena pointed out that only three days had passed since the Day against Violence on Women, but that "for the victims of violence not a single minute of silence was observed, so obviously I was not willing to observe it for an aggressor and not for the victims".

"He had a spectacular soccer gift". Paula does not deny the importance of Maradona for the history of soccer. However, she says that she refused to observe the minute of silence in his memory because "to be a great player you must also be a great man and he never had been. Whether he scored goals or won a World Cup, his history of abuse cannot be forgotten".