Maradona Is Suspended for 15 Months

Diego Maradona, the most-acclaimed soccer player in the world, was suspended Saturday for 15 months for using cocaine before a game last month.

The Disciplinary Commission of the Italian League barred the 30-year-old forward from playing through June 30, 1992, a ban that will be extended world-wide by FIFA, soccer’s governing body.

Maradona’s Italian lawyer, Enzo Siniscalchi, said he will appeal the decision to Italy’s 10-member Federal Commission of Appeals, which will make a decision by April 13.

Maradona, who led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup and the 1990 World Cup final, returned home Tuesday and awaited the decision in Buenos Aires. He did not make any comment.

Maradona, the captain of Argentina’s national team and defending Italian League champion Napoli, tested positive after a game against Bari on March 17.