Controversy with the Maradona statue in Napoli: they took it out of the stadium and returned it to the artist who made it

Two years and three months after the death of Diego Maradonathe best footballer of all time still makes headlines, in this case in Naplesthe city that worships him like a god since he put 10 local team to become a legend in the eighties.

Naples was one of the places that most mourned Diego’s death, and a sort of altar was quickly improvised in one of its corners where today fans from all over the world come to leave him offerings, flowers and T-shirts. Furthermore, the club that was champion thanks to his left foot and aims for a new Scudetto, that same day changed its name to the San Paolo stadium, patron saint of the city, to name it after Maradona.

Now, the controversy is set in the statue which was in the vicinity of the camp, presented in November 2021 on the first anniversary of farewell to Diego. The municipality decided that the work should be returned to the studio of its sculptor, the plastic artist Dominic SepeNeapolitan fan who until a few weeks ago posed proudly next to his creation.

According to the information indicated Gazettethe City Council took the decision to return the statue to Sepe per a bureaucratic issue: You cannot accept the donation because the value of the work is higher than the artist’s spending possibilities. On the other hand, the “censorship” is also explained in the fact that dedicating a statue to Diego is a privilege that could also attract other artists and giving that honor to Sepe is a violation of “respect for the principle of impartiality”.

As reported by Italythe artist is very disappointed and will try to fight in legal terms so that his work returns to the place it occupied until a few days ago, in via Giambattista Marino, in the east wing of the stadium.

With the bronze Diego at the gates of the stadium, Napoli established itself as one of the powers of football. He is in the round of 16 of the Champions League (in the first leg he beat Frankfurt 2-0 away) and is the comfortable leader in Serie A, with a 15-point lead over his escort. Will the team record change from now on?

Cabal aside, it’s worth remembering that just as Diego’s statue has become an object of veneration for Napoli fans, it has also been the object of ridicule and criticism. One of the details that caught our attention when we saw the final result was discovering that Maradona was carrying the ball with… his right leg.