Julio Grondona, the head of the Argentina Football association (AFA) football association and a senior vice president of FIFA, has died.
The 82-year-old was hospitalised after suffering a cardiac arrest but doctors at the Sanatorio Mitre private medical centre were unable to save him.
On Tuesday, Grondona lamented the decision by Alejandro Sabella to stand down as Argentina coach after three years in charge.
“I have spoken with Sabella, but I will keep to myself what he said. If a girlfriend does not love you, you cannot change her mind,” he said.
At the 2014 World Cup his son, Humberto Mario Grondona, was charged with ticketing offences.
Grondona, a staunch ally of FIFA president Sepp Blatter and a vocal opponent of change within football’s governing body, had been in charge of the AFA since 1979. He had been due to stand down in 2015.
He had a particularly strained relationship with Argentinian legend Diego Maradona, describing the former World Cup winner as a jinx.
