The soccer ball involved in the late Diego Maradona’s iconic “Hand of God” goal is expected to fetch upward of $3.3 million when it hits the auction block next month.
Maradona, considered by many to be the greatest soccer player of all time, scored the controversial goal for Argentina against England in the quarterfinal of the 1986 World Cup, according to a report.
Currently, the ball is the property of the game’s referee, Tunisian official Ali Bin Nasser, the report noted.
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Maradona put the ball behind England’s Peter Shilton by punching it past the goalie and into the net.
He scored twice that game.
Argentina won the game 2-1 and went on to win the tournament.
The “Hand of God” nickname for the goal comes from Maradona, himself, who claimed the goal was scored “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God.”
“This ball is part of international football history — it feels like the right time to be sharing it with the world,” Bin Nasser said.
“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.
“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,” Chairman of Graham Budd Auctions Graham Budd said.
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“With the history surrounding the ball, we are expecting this lot to be hugely popular when it comes up for auction.”
