BUENOS AIRES (AFP) - Football legend Diego Maradona checked into a hospital after falling ill from over-indulging in food, alcohol and cigars, but doctors said Thursday his life was not in danger.

The 46 year-old former football icon is staying in a shared room at the Guemes Hospital in Buenos Aires, where he was taken against his will late Wednesday.

Voted one of the best players of the 20th century and venerated like a god in Argentina, Maradona has a history of drug addiction and was hospitalized in 2000 and 2004 for cocaine overdoses, and 2005 for gastric bypass surgery.

Guemes Hospital initially said that Maradona was admitted for tests, but emphasized "it does not have any relation to the consumption of dangerous drugs."

Argentine television said he was rushed to the hospital after feeling ill at his parents' house.

Maradona's ex-wife, daughters and his personal doctor, Alfredo Cahe, later arrived at the hospital, and police threw up a line outside to hold back fans and well-wishers.

Cahe later emerged to tell reporters that Maradona's life was not in danger.

"He didn't have a very consistent lifestyle, in his eating habits, his drinking and the amount of cigars he smoked," Cahe said.

Maradona had not gone back to using cocaine, but "he is smoking three or four Habanos (Cuban cigars) a day. For him, who didn't smoke, it's too much," Cahe said.

"This, in addition to stress, was a logical reason to hospitalize him, and against his will," Cahe said.

A hospital statement mid-day Thursday signed by Cahe and hospital director Hector Di Tella described Maradona as "stable" and making "positive progress."

The "stress" Cahe mentioned is likely linked to the star's legal problems -- in early March Argentina's central bank began collecting information about Maradona's bank accounts, suggesting the football great was under investigation for tax evasion.

Born October 30, 1960 just outside Buenos Aires, Maradona shares the FIFA title of the 20th century's best player with Brazil's Pele after a stellar career with Boca Juniors, Barcelona and Napoli.

He scored 50 goals in 115 games for Argentina during his 21 years as a football star. He proved his football genius in the 1986 World Cup finals in Mexico, with a series of brilliant displays that led Argentina to the title.

But like much of his career, even that star turn was dogged by controversy.

His first goal was the notorious "Hand of God" effort, which saw Maradona fist the ball over England goalkeeper Peter Shilton.

His second goal in that match however, has been called one of the most brilliant ever in the game.

Since Maradona's retirement at 37, scandals have continued to surround him, including marital infidelity and drugs.

In 2005 Maradona found a new and successful career in television hosting a widely watched show called "The Night of 10," referring to his iconic Argentina jersey number.

Newspaper photographs early this month appeared to show he had regained many of the 50 kilograms (110 pounds) lost in his crash weight-loss treatment. Another showed him in a Buenos Aires nightclub with an injured nose after falling off a chair.

On Saturday Cahe told reporters that Maradona was considering a move to Switzerland to deal with a new surge in his weight, following his stomach reduction surgery in Colombia.