'Hand of God' balloon fetches £2m at auction

November 17 - The ball kicked by Diego Maradona for his infamous 'Hand of God' goal for Argentina in the 1986 World Cup has been auctioned off for almost £2million by the referee who missed the sport's most notorious handball.

The white Adidas 'Azteca' ball, which belonged to Tunisian match referee Ali Bin Nasser, was expected to fetch up to £3million when it went under the hammer on Wednesday.

The grudge clash with England was defined by two contrasting goals scored by the late Maradona, who died aged 60 of heart failure in November 2020. For the first, Maradona kicked off the ball in the net and later said the goal had been scored. "a little with the head of Maradona, a little with the hand of God".

The second came four minutes later as Maradona passed five England players to score the 'Goal of the Century', according to a 2002 poll. Argentina won 2-1 and lifted the World Cup.< /p>

Ahead of the sale, Bin Nasser said he felt it was a good time to share the object with the world and expressed the hope that the buyer - who has not been disclosed - the would put on public display.

Bin Nasser also defended his decision to let Maradona's disputed first goal stand. "I couldn't see the incident clearly. The two players, Shilton and Maradona, were facing me from behind.

"In accordance with FIFA's instructions issued before the tournament, I asked my line judge to confirm the validity of the goal: he returned to the halfway line, indicating that he was satisfied that the goal stood .

"At the end of the match, England head coach Bobby Robson said to me, 'You did a good job, but the linesman was irresponsible'.

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