| The hand of God | |
| Native Name: | La mano de Dios |
| Date: | (Argentina v England match) |
| Venue: | Estadio Azteca |
| Location: | Mexico City |
| Type: | Association football goal |
| Patrons: | --> |
| Organizers: | --> |
| Participants: | Diego Maradona Peter Shilton |
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| Blank1 Data: | --> |
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"The hand of God" (Spanish; Castilian: La mano de Dios) was a goal scored by Argentine footballer Diego Maradona during the Argentina v England quarter finals match of the 1986 FIFA World Cup. The goal was illegal under association football rules because Maradona used his hand to score. The referees did not have a clear view of the play and allowed the goal to stand. The goal gave Argentina a 1–0 lead. Argentina went on to win 2–1, with Maradona scoring a second goal known as the "Goal of the Century", en route to claiming the World Cup.
The goal's name derives from Maradona's initial response on whether he scored it illegally, stating it was made "a little with the head of Maradona, and a little with the hand of God". Maradona eventually acknowledged he had illegally handled the ball, stating that he considered the goal to be "symbolic revenge" for the United Kingdom's victory over Argentina in the Falklands War four years earlier.
Six minutes into the second half of the game, Maradona took the ball out of the box with his left leg and passed it to teammate Jorge Valdano. Valdano tried to take on several English defenders, but the ball was intercepted and thrown back and forth and kicked towards England's goal by English midfielder Steve Hodge.
Because of the position of the players, Maradona would have been caught offside, but as the ball came off an opponent, there was no offside offence. Alone inside the penalty box and with the ball dropping down, Maradona contested the ball with goalkeeper Peter Shilton, who stood 200NaN0 taller than Maradona. Shilton jumped forward with his right hand, while Maradona did so with his left arm outstretched. Maradona's fist, which was raised close to his head, touched the ball first and hit the ball into England's goal. Maradona began to celebrate while glancing sideways at the referee and the linesman for confirmation. He then fully celebrated the goal when it was given.
Tunisian referee Ali Bennaceur gave the goal, but after the English players' protests he sought the advice of his second linesman who confirmed the goal.
Mexican photographer Alejandro Ojeda Carbajal immortalized this moment in a photograph in which Maradona can be seen hitting the ball with his hand.
In 2005, 19 years after scoring the controversial goal, Maradona confessed on a program La Noche del 10, that the goal was actually scored with his hand.
Several world media outlets reported the news, creating controversy.[1] Even Peter Shilton rejected the apology, arguing that it was now too late.[2] Maradona, a few days after the article came out, denied everything, saying that the British newspaper The Sun had misquoted him.
A few days later, The Sun newspaper confirmed that it had modified the interpretation of Maradona's words and asked to change the name to The Devil's Hand. In the original text of the interview, it could be seen that Maradona had never asked for forgiveness for the goal.
In the 2019 documentary film Diego Maradona directed by Asif Kapadia, Maradona links the event to the Falklands War four years earlier, saying "[w]e, as Argentinians, didn't know what the military was up to. They told us that we were winning the war. But in reality, England was winning 20–0. It was tough. The hype made it seem like we were going to play out another war. I knew it was my hand. It wasn't my plan but the action happened so fast that the linesman didn't see me putting my hand in. The referee looked at me and he said: 'Goal.' It was a nice feeling like some sort of symbolic revenge against the English."[3]
Ivan Lopez-Muniz wrote in 2017 that in Argentina the "entire nation", including the Government and the Argentine Football Association, still "praises the most blatant act of cheating ever caught on tape", partly because "Argentines are humans, and humans are hypocrites" but also because of a long history of grievances against the United Kingdom, that includes not only the 1982 Falklands War, but other matters such as England manager Alf Ramsay calling the Argentine players "animals" after Argentine Captain Antonio Rattín was sent off against England in the 1966 World Cup, as well as Britain's invasions of the future Argentine capital Buenos Aires in 1806 and 1807, and its reassertion of sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (known to Argentines as Las Malvinas) "in 1832".[4]
The "Hand of God" became a popular phrase and is still referred to around the world. Some other famous football handballs are:
The legacy of "Hand of God" has extended beyond the realm of football. Paolo Sorrentino’s semi-autobiographical 2021 drama is named after the incident and references Diego Maradona's influence on 1980s Naples.
After the game Maradona swapped his shirt in the tunnel with Steve Hodge. After many years of requests to sell the shirt and a period of 20 years where it was on loan at the National Football Museum, in 2022 Hodge placed it up for auction with auctioneers Sotheby's.[13] On 4 May 2022, the shirt sold at auction for £7,100,000, a world record for a piece of sports memorabilia.[14]