Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ ball up for auction and will make huge amount
The ball that was used to score Diego Maradona's ‘Hand of God’ goal against England is up for auction – and it’s expected to make up to £3million.
The ball is being brought to auction by Graham Budd Auctions, with seller Ali Bin Nasser, who is the Tunisian referee who famously allowed one of the most controversial goals in history during the 1986 World Cup quarter-final, in line to receive the huge amount.
During Argentina’s 2-1 knockout win over the Three Lions, in a match played out just four years after the end of the Falklands War, Maradona scored two of the most significant goals in the history of the game.
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The attacker, widely considered one of the best to ever grace the pitch, netted the first goal with his hand, looping it over the out-stretched arm of Peter Shilton – though the referee didn’t spot it.
Maradona went on to claim that the goal was scored “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God”.
The second goal saw Maradona dribble past five England players, including goalkeeper Shilton, before slotting the ball home. Some have labelled it as the ‘goal of the century’.
England brought one back with an 81st-minute goal via Gary Lineker – but the day was Argentina’s, as they progressed and ultimately went on to win the tournament.
Seller Bin Nasser said: “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 honour and a career highlight.”
The ball is thought to cost somewhere between £2.5-£3million, while other parts of memorabilia, including the shirt worn by Bin Nasser during the quarter-final, and a shirt signed by Maradona to his ‘eternal friend’ at a reunion years later, will also be sold.
It comes after the shirt worn by Maradona was sold for £7.4million, a new world record for any piece of sporting memorabilia at the time. This was beaten just three months later when a Mickey Mantle baseball card sold for £10.3million in August.
Graham Budd, chairman of Graham Budd Auctions, which is auctioning the ball in its World Cup Special auction on 16th November 2022, said: “2022 has been an amazing year in the sports memorabilia market with records broken on three occasions. It’s an exciting time in the market and we’re wondering whether this famous football will break records as well.”
The live auction will be streamed online on 16th November, with prospective buyers able to register and bid online from 28th October. A live stream of the final minutes of saleroom bidding will be available via www.grahambuddauctions.co.uk.
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