Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand Of God’ Ball earns $2 Million at auction
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Diego Maradona "Hand of God" ball auctioned for $2 million
The ball that Diego Maradona punched in for his “Hand of God” goal in the 1986 FIFA World Cup has been auctioned off for roughly $2.4 million by the referee who overlooked football’s most iconic handball. Ali Bin Nasser is the Tunisian erstwhile match referee who officiated the quarterfinal contest between Argentina and England in Mexico.
He possessed the 36-year-old Adidas ball that was auctioned off at Graham Budd Auctions in London for £2m ($2.37m) on Wednesday according to Bloomberg. Before the auction, Bin Nasser said he believed the time had come to showcase Diego Maradona’s “hand of the god” ball with the world. Bin Nasser hopes the unnamed purchaser would exhibit Diego Maradona’s “hand of god” ball in a public setting.
It takes place six months since the jersey that Diego Maradona wore in the famous quarterfinal in Mexico City was priced at auction for approximately $9.3 million, more than twice the estimate made by Sotheby’s. The 1986 match between Argentina and England featured the auctioned ball for the entire 90 minutes because it took place before the multi-ball system in football was implemented.
It was influenced by the Aztec civilization’s architecture and murals. The Maradona shirt that was sold at auction in May will be displayed at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Diego Maradona’s “hand of god” goal in 1986 FIFA World Cup
Maradona’s “hand of god” goal that offered Argentina a 1-0 advantage over England in that match—but shouldn’t have been permitted—has earned a place in football tales. Maradona rushed into the box for the opening goal, climbed up with England goalkeeper Peter Shilton, and punched the ball home.
Later, the referee claimed that “a little with the head of Maradona, a little with the hand of God” had gone into scoring the goal. A 2002 FIFA poll regarded Maradona’s second goal as the “Goal of the Century” after he outran five English players and Shilton just four minutes after the first.
Bin Nasser allowed Maradona’s contentious opening goal to stand, and Argentina went on to win the feud game 2-1. Maradona went on to help Argentina win the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
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