Maradona, who will appear before a FIFA disciplinary committee in Zurich on Sunday over his foul-mouthed rant after last month's World Cup qualifier in Uruguay, told Spain's Marca newspaper that many people were out to get him.
"Much worse things have been said and there are people who do terrible things in soccer...," the paper quoted Maradona as saying in an interview conducted in Madrid on Wednesday.
"I am taking refuge in my team, my family, my daughters and in ordinary people from the street," added the 49-year-old.
"Lest nobody forget, people in Argentina, from the street, are showing me a lot of affection, they greet me and love me just like always.
"And I am focusing on that, on the people without microphones, not on what the media says."
Maradona could be sidelined from matches in next year's finals in South Africa if FIFA decide to hand down a stadium ban for his outburst at the end of the 1-0 win that guaranteed Argentina a place at the tournament.
"If anyone wants to take it badly, then let them take it badly," Maradona told Marca.
"I said what I said and that's where we stand. On Sunday I will go and say what I have to say to FIFA and that'll be that."
The Argentina Football Federation has sent a report to FIFA, saying: "Maradona was acting in a state of violent emotion over arguments with journalists in the days before the match."
"I say, as a joke, that if I had done that flying kick that Aguirre did against Panama they would sentence me to life imprisonment," he said.
