The infamous ball used in the play where Maradona scored the opening goal of the match against England with his hand is set to be auctioned.
In 1986, Diego Maradona owned the World Cup, which is still considered one of the greatest individual tournaments of a player, Maradona was at the peak of his powers in Mexico.
In the quarter-final against England, Argentina dug deep to defeat the English side, using the Falklands War as ammunition. That day, Maradona scored the goal of the century when he slipped through the entire English defense from midfield to score Argentina’s second goal.
Before this game, Maradona entered the England penalty area and when he jumped for the ball, he charged it with his fist and the ball went past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton. The goal would go on to be known as “The Hand of God“, now one of the referees for this match, Ali Bin Nasser, is set to auction the ball.
Maradona Hand Of God ball to go for millions
The infamous ball is set to be auctioned off at Graham Budd Auctions on November 16 with bids expected to be in the $2 – 4 million range. Ali Bin Nasser kept the ball after the infamous match and even met Maradona and showed him the ball many years later.
Bin Nasser told the Daily Mail, “This ball is part of international football history – it feels like the right time to be sharing it with the world. At Mexico ’86 I was among the 42 referees at the tournament.
“African referees didn’t get the same opportunities as those in Europe, so to be told by FIFA that I was chosen because I was among the best in the world was a huge honor and a career highlight.”
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