Maradona ‘Hand of God’ match ball is going up for auction

The match ball involved in the Maradona “Hand of God” incident that saw Argentina knock England out of the World Cup is going up for auction.

Expected to sell for around £3 million, the tartan army said today Thursday, October 13 that fans should club together to bring the ball to Hampden Park, Scotland.

Maradona knocked England out of the world cup by punching the ball into the back of the net passed the outstretched England keeper Peter Shilton, back in 1986.

The infamous punch made Maradona a legend in his home country as it did in Scotland, where there is no love lost for their old rivals England.

According to a report by The Scottish Sun, Iain Emerson, Editor of the Famous Tartan Army Magazine said: “It would be amazing if it was bought by someone Scottish.

“Maybe if everyone in the country put in a pound then we could buy the ball and stick it on display at Hampden.

“Peter Shilton could be our guest of honour at the unveiling” adding “The fact it put England out of the tournament secured his hero status with Scotland fans.

“He was our player of the year.”

The referee involved, Tunisian Ali Bin Nasser, now 79 and owner of the ball, said: “This ball is part of international football history. It feels like the right time to be sharing it with the world.

“I hope the buyer is in a position to put it on display or share it with the public in some other way.”

He continued saying: “The ‘86 match was a dream come true.

“As for Maradona’s first goal I couldn’t see the incident clearly, the two players Shilton and Maradona were facing me from behind.”

Auctioneer Adam Gascoigne told the Sun: “The referee has had the ball ever since the match.

“Unlike today where you have a multi-ball system in place at games, this was the only ball used in the match from start to finish so there is no doubt this was the ball used by Maradona to score his Hand of God goal.

“It has just been sitting in a cupboard for years and Mr Bin Naser has decided now is the right time to sell it.

“When you look at how much the Maradona shirt sold for, it is no surprise that the estimate for the ball is between £2.5m to £3m.”

Maradona’s number 10 shirt worn in the ‘Hand of God’ match sold for more than £7 million, and that interest in the memorabilia from that game is why the auctioneers expect the ball to sell for around £3 million.

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