One might be skeptical of any story that goes under the label of “exclusive”‘ and appears in London-based tabloid The Sun, but this one is irresistible. After all, a story doesn’t have to be true to be a good story. And so we pass on the paper’s report that the fire alarm that woke Chelsea’s players at 7 a.m. on Sunday morning before its table-top clash at Manchester United was caused by Diego Maradona smoking a cigar.
Argentina’s national coach, Maradona, was in town to watch the game and was reportedly staying at the same hotel. He and his “entourage,” lodged on the 14th floor, were apparently enjoying a relaxing smoke, as you do at seven o’clock on a Sunday morning. Their indulgence set off the alarms, which, as the paper so poetically relates, caused “bleary-eyed stars in bathrobes and towels… to stand outside shivering — before going on to be thumped 3-0 at Old Trafford following their night of shattered kip.”
And how do we know? Officially, Greater Manchester Fire Service would not say what caused the alarm, but “a fireman at the scene” said that “it looks as though it was set off by Diego and his entourage smoking cigars on the 14th floor.” Hotel manager Steve Miles said: “We followed procedure. It was a genuine alarm.” And most definitely not triggered by a Sun reporter standing underneath a hotel smoke alarm with a fat Havana.