BUENOS AIRES — Diego Maradona, who this week accused his successor as Argentina coach Sergio Batista of accepting bribes, is also tainted by corruption, his former private secretary said Saturday.

Maradona caused a stir Thursday when alleging that Batista accepted payments to include certain players in the national team. But ex-aide Gabriel Buono said the soccer legend was guilty of the same offense.

“He talks about bribes but if you are looking for someone who is corrupt the first person is Maradona. I’ve got all the evidence,” he said.

Batista was involved in Argentina’s national setup before Maradona took the team to the 2010 World Cup, which ended in a quarter-final thrashing by Germany.

He returned to succeed Maradona as head coach but was sacked after July’s Copa America flop on home soil.

Batista responded to Maradona’s claims by threatening legal action.

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