The ball Diego Maradona punched into the net when Argentina knocked England out of the 1986 World Cup is being auctioned off for £3million.
Referee Ali Bin Nasser is selling the "Hand of God" ball, which he kept after our 2-1 quarter final defeat in Mexico. The Argentina legend, who died in November 2020, said he scored "a little with the head of Maradona, a little with the hand of God".
He also scored his "goal of the century" winner in the match, dribbling the ball past five England players and goalkeeper Peter Shilton. Tunisian Bin Nasser, 78, said: "This ball is part of football history - it feels like the right time to be sharing it with the world."
The referee said his view of the infamous goal was blocked so he followed FIFA rules by checking with his linesman before allowing it. He added: "I couldn’t see the incident clearly. The two players, Shilton and Maradona, were facing me from behind.
"As per FIFA’s instructions issued before the tournament I looked to my linesman for confirmation of the validity of the goal – he made his way back to the halfway line indicating he was satisfied that the goal should stand.
"At the end of the match the England head coach Bobby Robson said to me: 'You did a good job but the linesman was irresponsible'."
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Auctioneer Graham Budd estimated the Adidas Azteca Mexico ball’s value at £2.5m to £3m due to the timing of the match after the Falklands War, the rivalry, and the handball goal. The expert said: "We’re wondering whether this famous football will break records."
Bin Nasser is also selling his shirt from the match and another signed by Maradona to his "eternal friend" years later. Gary Lineker, who scored England’s goal to win the Golden Boot, said of the ball: "Looks like someone’s punched it."
Former England international Steve Hodge sold Maradona's shirt from that game in May for a record £7.1m. Hodge swapped jerseys with Maradona at full-time and initially refused to sell the famous piece of memorabilia after the icon's death in November 2020.
The ex-midfielder changed his mind in April and Maradona's shirt was auctioned the following month. It was expected to fetch more than £4m, which suggests the ball could sell for a lot more than its estimated value. The auction is on November 16.
The 1986 World Cup, held in Mexico, will forever be remembered for Maradona's heroics. The legendary forward scored another two goals in the 2-0 win against Belgium in the last four before captaining Argentina to a 3-2 victory against West Germany in the final.
Maradona was given the Golden Ball as the player of the tournament for his efforts, as well as the first of his two Ballon d'Or awards later in 1986. He was later named as FIFA's Player of the Century alongside fellow icon Pele, who won three World Cups with Brazil.
