The "Hand of God" excuse won't save Diego Maradona this time.
Disturbing video of the soccer legend hitting his ex-girlfriend was leaked to the press on Monday, sending shockwaves throughout his native Argentina.
The 30-second clip, originally aired by Argentine TV program "Nosotros al MediodÃa," shows Maradona appearing to strike former fiancee Rocio Oliva, who secretly filmed the attack on her cellphone.
Looking visibly intoxicated, Maradona slurs his speech as he questions Oliva over her telephone use before physically confronting her.
"Stop! Stop! Stop hitting me," Oliva pleads.
His latest and undoubtedly most troubling outburst comes at a time when professional sports has been struggling to deal with domestic violence in the wake of the Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson scandals.
Facing a barrage of criticism, Maradona spoke out to defend himself by claiming he was only slapping the telephone out of Oliva's hands.
"Yes, I threw the phone but I swear to God that I have never raised my hand against a women," he told Argentine journalist Marina Calabró in a series of text messages.
He also inadvertently hinted that there may be more damaging footage of him out there.
"Which one?” Maradona reportedly answered when Calabró reached out to him for comment on Monday’s video leak.
