Football legend Diego Maradona has been buried in a private ceremony after a day of emotional scenes in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires.

Only around two dozen relatives and close friends attended the final ceremony on Thursday.

But earlier huge crowds turned out to pay their respects, with many weeping, blowing kisses and praying as they filed past his coffin.

Maradona died of a heart attack on Wednesday aged 60.

His death triggered mourning around the world but nowhere was it felt more fiercely than in a country that saw him as a national hero.

Maradona's coffin - draped in Argentina's national flag and football shirt, bearing his trademark number 10 on the back - was on public display at the presidential palace on Thursday.

By mid-afternoon queues stretched back for more than a kilometre, and police clashed with mourners as they tried to close off the palace in anticipation of the wake scheduled for 16:00 local time (19:00 GMT).

There were reports of tear gas and rubber bullets being used as officers in riot gear struggled to hold back the crowd.

One well-wisher, Rubén Hernández, thought the police had overreacted.

"We were calm lining up and suddenly, the police started to fire rubber bullets," he said, quoted by Reuters news agency. "Crazy, I just want to say goodbye to Diego."

Authorities were eventually forced to stop public viewing of the coffin to keep the peace.

The motorised funeral cortege drove his body to the Bella Vista cemetery on the outskirts of the city, where he was buried next to the graves of his parents.

The atmosphere varied greatly outside the presidential palace. Those waiting to go in were singing and chanting.

"If you don't jump, you're English," is one of the favourite chants of Argentinians about the 1986 match with England and THAT goal - the Hand of God - something many here saw as a sort of payback after the Falklands War, known here as the Malvinas.

But on the other side of the square, there was another line with those coming out, many wiping away tears or hugging each other after processing what had happened.

This wasn't just the death of Argentina's superstar footballer, but the passing of a man that many saw as a national icon, a star who made Argentina famous - and most of all, a very human role-model who Argentinians loved, flaws and all.

A man who was respected for achieving so much, yet never forgetting his roots.