Mortuary attendant fired for taking selfie with Diego Maradona’s body

   Argentina's football star team captain Diego Maradona kisses the World Soccer Cup won by his team after a 3-2 victory over West Germany on at the Azteca stadium in Mexico City on June 29, 1986 [File photo, AFP]

A funeral parlour worker has been sacked after posing for a sickening picture next to the open coffin of Diego Maradona.

The shocking image, which Mirror Sport has decided not to publish, shows the man giving the thumbs up next to the 60-year-old's body.

The man is understood to have been tasked with preparing Maradona's body for the wake. The owner of Sepelios Pinier funeral parlour confirmed to local media that the employee has been sacked.

An art teacher gives finishing touches to a painting of the late Argentinian football legend Diego Armando Maradona painted as a tribute after his death, in Mumbai on November 26, 2020. - Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona passed away on November 25, 2020. [Photo by AFP]

The picture, which has been shared on social media, garnered a very angry response.

One Twitter user wrote: "He should be stripped of his Argentinian citizenship. You don't do something like this. Complete lack of respect."

While another warned: "Don't retweet it."

Maradona died in his sleep on Wednesday after he suffered heart failure, causing a pulmonary edema.

People react on the street as the hearse carrying the casket of soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona travels to Bella Vista cemetery, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina, November 26, 2020. [REUTERS]

The World Cup winner had been recovering at home in Tigre after leaving hospital on November 11 following a brain blood clot operation.

A preliminary post-mortem detected a dilated cardiomyopathy, a medical condition in which the heart muscle becomes weakened and enlarged.

This prevents the heart from being able to pump enough blood to the rest of the body.

Maradona's body was taken to the presidential palace in Argentina on Thursday morning, as people gathered to pay respect to a national treasure.

Fans also gathered outside the Buenos Aires stadium, where the 60-year-old began his career and which has since been renamed to honour Maradona.

Among those to pay tribute to Maradona was the pope, who said he will remember the Argentine in his prayers.

Meanwhile, an emotional statement from Maradona's former club Napoli, read: "Everyone is waiting for our words but what words could we possibly use for a pain such as this that we are going through? Now is the moment for tears. Then there will be the moment for words.

"We are in mourning. We feel like a boxer who has been knocked out. We are in shock. A devastating blow for both city and club."