Six months after the shirt worn by Diego Maradona in the 1986 World Cup final broke auction records, another memorabilia linked to the late legend’s famous match is expected to sell for millions.
The ball played in the match between Argentina and England in the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Mexico in 1986 was put up for sale at an auction organized by Graham Bodd Auctions in London on November 16, and its value was estimated at between 2.7 and 3.3 million dollars.
With this ball and at the time, the legend Maradona scored two goals, one of them miraculously when he circled several England players and goalkeeper Peter Shelton, and the other with the help of “God’s hand”, as he put it.
And the “Hand of God” goal is unlike any other goal, because the “golden boy” scored it with his left hand before Tunisia’s Ali Bin Nasser could count it, despite the objections of the England players.
This tight 2-1 victory helped Argentina reach the final about a week later, thus crowning the World Cup for the second and last time.
Tunisian referee Nasser Ben Ali, who owns the ball and directed the famous match, said in press statements that he thought it was time to share the ball with the world, expressing his hope that the new owner would share the ball with the fans. who loves the “round witch”.
Speaking of the handball goal, he said: “I couldn’t see the incident clearly. I could see English goalkeeper Peter Shilton and Maradona from behind.”
He added: “According to the instructions of the International Game Federation before the tournament, I looked at the referee with a flag to make sure the goal was correct – and he was heading to the middle of the field, indicating that the goal was correct.”
He added: “At the end of the match, England manager Bobby Robson told me I did a good job and blamed the referee for the goal.”
Notably, the jersey Maradona wore against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals sold for more than $9 million in an online auction held by Sotheby’s last May.
Source: cnn.com