It is regarded as one of the most controversial moments in sporting history. Now, the ball Diego Maradona used to score his 'Hand of God' goal against England in the 1986 World Cup has emerged for sale for £3m.
The Adidas Azteca ball was kept by Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser immediately after the game that Argentina controversially won 2-1. The retired match official, now aged 79, has kept the ball in a cupboard at his home in Tunisia ever since.
He has now decided to auction off the piece of sporting memorabilia after seeing the number 10 shirt worn by Maradona in the same game sell for over £7m earlier this year. Mr Bin Nasser has two grown-up sons and intends to split the proceeds of the London sale with his family.
Speaking ahead of the sale next month, he said that he did not see Maradona clearly punch the ball over England goalkeeper Peter Shilton and into the empty net. He said: "(Refereeing) the '86 match was a dream come true.
"After Lineker's goal bringing the scoreline to 2-1 my clearest memory is just hoping England would score an equaliser so that the crowd and I would get another 30 minutes of this magical match. As for Maradona's first goal 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."
He added: "This ball is part of international football history. It feels like the right time to be sharing it with the world.
"I hope the buyer is in a position to put it on display or share it with the public in some other way. England is the home of football and has been since the game started."
Graham Budd, chairman of Graham Budd Auctions, said: "The famous handball has led to this match going down as one of the most famous and emotive matches in football history. With the history surrounding the ball, we are expecting this lot to be hugely popular when it comes up for auction."
Adam Gascoigne, also of Graham Budd Auctions, added: "The referee has had the ball ever since the match. Unlike today where you have a multi-ball system in place at games, this was the only ball used in the match from start to finish so there is no doubt this was the ball used by Maradona to score his Hand of God goal.
"It has just been sitting in a cupboard for years and Mr Bin Naser has decided now is the right time to sell it. When you look at how much the Maradona shirt sold for, it is no surprise that the estimate for the ball is between £2.5m to £3m.
"The Argentina versus England quarter-final of 1986 is one of the most famous matches in World Cup history. It had the Hand of God goal, which is the most controversial incident in a World Cup match.
"It had one of the best goals ever scored at the World Cup by Maradona five minutes later. Then it had Gary Lineker's goal to win the Golden Boot for the whole competition.
"These were three historic World Cup moments all with this ball." The size 5 Adidas Azteca balls were the first synthetic balls used at a World Cup as opposed to leather.
The football will go under the hammer at Graham Budd Auctions in London on November 16.
