DIEGO MARADONA said yesterday that there was nothing racist about his exchange with an Asian fan during Argentina’s draw with Iceland.

British television staff working in Spartak Stadium in Moscow during the 1-1 stalemate on Saturday reported seeing Maradona respond to South Korea fans calling his name.

On Twitter, BBC presenter Jacqui Oatley posted that Maradona “obliged with a smile, kiss and wave. Then pulled his eyes to the side in a clearly racist gesture.”

In a Facebook message, the former Argentina player says he saw “an Asian boy wearing an Argentina T-shirt,” and that “I, from afar, tried to tell them how nice it seemed to me that even the Asians cheer for us. And that’s all, guys, come on.”

Fifa responded to the incident by pointing to its anti-discrimination rules without actually commenting on the incident.

Maradona was also forced to apologise for smoking a cigar in the VIP seats, despite a Fifa ban on smoking at World Cup stadiums.