Argentina football icon, Diego Maradona’s legendary ‘Hand of God’ football is expected to sell above $3.3 million when it hits the auction block next month.
The Argentine is considered by many to be the greatest soccer player of all time, as he scored the controversial goal for Argentina against England in the quarterfinal of the 1986 World Cup.
Currently, the ball is the property of the referee that officiated the match, Tunisian official Ali Bin Nasser.
Diego scored twice in the 1986 match, putting the ball behind England’s Peter Shilton by punching it past the goalie and into the net.
The “Hand of God” nickname for the goal comes from Diego, himself, who claimed the goal was scored “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God.”
Argentina won England by 2 goals to 1. They also went on to win the World Cup tournament that year.
Ali Bin Nasser who is prepared to unveil the ball said in a statement:
“This ball is part of international football history — it feels like the right time to be sharing it with the world.”
“As for Maradona’s first goal I couldn’t see the incident clearly, the two players Shilton and Maradona were facing me from behind … 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.'”
The “Hand of God” ball is set to be displayed at London’s Wembley Stadium ahead of its Nov. 16 auction conducted by Graham Budd Auction House.
Chairman of Graham Budd Auctions Graham Budd said:
“The timing of the match, the history between the two teams stretching back to 1951… and the famous handball have all 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.”
