Maradona ‘Hand of God’ World Cup ball sold for $2.4M

LONDON (AP) — The ball punched in by Diego Maradona for his “Hand of God” objective on the 1986 World Cup has been bought at public sale for practically $2.4 million by the referee who missed soccer’s most well-known handball.

Ali Bin Nasser, the Tunisian former match official who refereed the quarterfinal recreation between Argentina and England in Mexico, owned the 36-year-old Adidas ball that was bought at Graham Budd Auctions in London for two million kilos ($2.37 million) on Wednesday.

Bin Nasser stated earlier than the public sale he felt it was the appropriate time to share the merchandise with the world and expressed hope the customer would put it on public show.

The Maradona objective that gave Argentina a 1-0 lead in that match towards England — however shouldn’t have been allowed — has change into a part of soccer legend.

Maradona jumped as if to go the ball however as an alternative punched it previous England goalkeeper Peter Shilton. Maradona quipped afterward that it was scored “a bit of with the top of Maradona and a bit of with the hand of God,” resulting in its iconic identify.

Talking forward of the public sale, Bin Nasser stated: “I couldn’t see the incident clearly. The 2 gamers, Shilton and Maradona, have been dealing with me from behind.

“As per FIFA’s directions issued earlier than the match, I seemed to my linesman for affirmation of the validity of the objective — he made his means again to the midway line indicating he was glad that the objective ought to stand. On the finish of the match, the England head coach Bobby Robson stated to me, ‘You probably did job, however the linesman was irresponsible.’”

Maradona scored an excellent second objective towards England solely 4 minutes later with the identical ball — the one one used within the quarterfinal. He ran practically 70 meters from his personal half and weaved his well past half the England group earlier than slipping the ball previous Shilton to make it 2-0. That objective was voted the World Cup Aim of the Century in 2002.

Argentina received the sport 2-1 and went on to raise the World Cup. Maradona died in 2020 on the age of 60. The upcoming World Cup in Qatar, which begins Sunday, would be the first since Maradona’s dying.

The jersey worn by Maradona towards England was bought in Could for $9.3 million, on the time the best value paid at public sale for a chunk of sports activities memorabilia. That was overwhelmed by a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle baseball card, which went for $12.6 million in New York in August.

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