The ball used when Argentine legend Diego Maradona scored his “Hand of God” goal against England at the 1986 World Cup has been put up for auction by the Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser who was conducting the game, reports AP/UNB.
Graham Budd Auctions, who is in charge of conducting the auction process, said on Thursday that they expect the 36-year-old Adidas ball, which the referee owns, to collect between $2.7 million and $3.3 million when it goes up for sale in Britain on Nov. 16.
The goal that gave Argentina a 1-0 lead in the quarterfinal against England held in Mexico City has become part of World Cup legend. In the game, Maradona jumped as if to head the ball, whereas he punched it past goalkeeper Peter Shilton. England players protested to Nasser but the goal stood. Maradona quipped afterward that it was scored “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God,” leading to its iconic name.
Maradona used the same ball, the only one used in the quarterfinal, for his brilliant second goal four minutes later. The Argentina great ran 68 meters from his own half and weaved his way past half the England team before placed the ball past Shilton. That goal was voted the World Cup Goal of the Century in 2002.
Argentina won the game 2-1 and went on to lift the World Cup, and the tournament launched Maradona as one of the game’s greatest players. Maradona died in 2020 at the age of 60.
“This ball is part of international football history,” Nasser said in a statement from Graham Budd Auctions. “It feels like the right time to be sharing it with the world.”
Nasser will also auction the referee shirt he wore for the quarterfinal, Graham Budd Auctions said, and another shirt that Maradona signed for his “eternal friend” at a reunion years after the game.
Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hpoque
