Maradona's 'Hand of God' ball sells for £2.5m

What the report says

The football linked to Diego Maradona’s infamous “Hand of God” goal has sold at auction for £2.5 million, according to BBC Sport Football. The sale took place at Heritage Auctions in the United States, with the ball identified as the Adidas Azteca used in Argentina’s 2-1 quarter-final win over England at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

Maradona used the ball to score the controversial first goal against goalkeeper Peter Shilton, later describing it as being scored partly with his head and partly with the “hand of God.” He also scored the celebrated second goal in the same match, later remembered as the “goal of the century,” when he dribbled through several England players before finishing past Shilton. The BBC said the ball had been expected to sell for much more, around $10 million.

Heritage Auctions specialist Mike Provenzale described the item as a unique piece of football history. The ball was originally kept by Tunisia’s Ali Bin Nasser, who refereed the match, and its authenticity was later supported by independent verification, BBC Sport reported. Bin Nasser previously sold the ball in 2022 for $2.37 million; it was then offered again in 2023 but did not meet the reserve price. The shirt Maradona wore in the same match sold at auction in 2022 for £7.1 million.