Diego Maradona apologises to FIFA for refereeing comments

Diego Maradona has backtracked on comments made about FIFA and referee Mark Geiger in the aftermath of Colombia's last-16 defeat to England at the World Cup.

In a rant on Venezuelan television, the 57-year-old accused the officials of siding with the Three Lions and described the result as a "monumental theft".

The 1986 World Cup winner also suggested that Pierluigi Collina, president of FIFA's referees committee, was partly to blame for putting Geiger in charge of the match.

Following a strong rebuttal from the governing body on Thursday morning, however, Maradona has now issued an apology on Instagram.

"Taken by the excitement of supporting Colombia the other day, I said a couple of things and, I admit, some of them are unacceptable," he posted. "My apologies to FIFA and its president."

England beat Colombia on penalties after playing out a 1-1 draw across 120 minutes in Moscow.