London: The ball with which Argentine hero Diego Maradona scored the controversial goal to equalize England at the Azteca stadium in Mexico City in the 1986 World Cup in the 1986 World Cup has been auctioned off. UK auction house Graham Budd Auctions has put the ball held by referee Ali Bin Nasser up for auction. It was thought to fetch up to 30 lakh pounds but one person bought it for 24 lakh dollars (Rs 195 crore). The Adidas Azteca ball was held up by the referee after the match.
The shirt worn by Maradona in the match was sold in the same way six months ago. But that day, someone paid double the auction company’s price: $9.3 million.
In the 1986 World Cup, Adidas, the manufacturer, prepared the ball which was assimilated into the Aztec culture in Mexico. The auctioned ball was used for 90 minutes in the England-Argentina match. The match also had political significance as it followed the 1982 Falklands War. At first, Argentina took the lead with a controversial goal, then Maradona won the “goal of the century” and won the match and finally the cup.
Maradona, who was the superstar of the tournament, died of a heart attack in 2020 at the age of 60.
England goalkeeper Peter Shilton ran to block Maradona who went close to goal with the ball but hit the goal with his hand for Argentina. Maradona explained that the goal was scored half by the hand of God and half by the hand of Maradona. The referee said that because he was behind, he couldn’t see clearly and therefore conceded the goal. Argentina won the game 2-1. Four minutes later, Maradona scored a solo goal after quickly passing five English players and became part of history.
