Arabic version: بيع كرة «يد الله» لمارادونا مقابل 2.5 مليون جنيه إسترليني

According to BBC News, the football used for Diego Maradona’s famous “Hand of God” goal at the 1986 World Cup has sold at auction for £2.5m.

The Adidas Azteca ball sold for $3.3m (£2.5m) at Heritage Auctions in the United States on Saturday. It had been expected to fetch closer to $10m (£7.3m).

Maradona punched the ball past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton during Argentina’s 2-1 quarter-final victory. He later told reporters the goal had been scored “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God”.

In the same match, Maradona scored the goal later known as the “goal of the century”, dribbling past five England outfield players before scoring past Shilton.

Match referee Ali Bin Nasser kept the ball for more than three decades after collecting it at full-time. He sold it in 2022 for $2.37m (£1.74m), while a later auction attempt in 2023 did not meet its minimum value. The shirt Maradona wore in the match sold for £7.1m in 2022.