BUENOS AIRES: Former Argentina teammates of Diego Maradona confirm his claims that there were no doping controls before a World Cup playoff with Australia in 1993, but said they had no knowledge of receiving performance-enhancing drugs. Maradona said on Argentine television Monday that the players were given an unspecified stimulant before the two-legged playoff to decide whether the team would qualify for the 1994 World Cup in the US. “What happened is that to play against Australia we were given a speedy coffee. They put something in the coffee and that's why we ran more,” Maradona told “The Football Show.” Maradona said Argentine Football Association President Julio Grondona knew about the doping. “Why weren't there any anti-doping controls in the match with Australia if we had them in all the other games?” Maradona asked. “They give you 10 anti-doping controls and only the match that decides whether Argentina will go to the United States or not, there is no anti-doping control. That's the cheat and Grondona knew about it.” Grondona has made no comment. Argentina drew the first match in Sydney 1-1 and won the return 1-0 in Buenos Aires to secure a berth in the 1994 tournament. Maradona's teammates agreed there were no drug tests before the matches but deny consciously taking any illegal substances. “We knew there wasn't going to be any anti-doping control a few days before, but we didn't attach any importance to it,” midfielder Hugo Perez told the Associated Press Tuesday. “We just concentrated on playing, but what Diego said about there being no control is true.” Perez said it was difficult to give precise details about what happened because it was a long time ago, but remembers the players could drink either water or coffee.
