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

A ball used by Diego Maradona to score his iconic "Hand of God" goal during Argentina's 2-1 quarter-final victory over England in the 1986 World Cup has been sold at auction for £2.5m. The incident occurred when Maradona punched the ball past goalkeeper Peter Shilton. After the match, Maradona claimed the goal was partly made with his head and partly with his hand.

The ball, an Adidas Azteca, sold for $3.3m (£2.5m) at Heritage Auctions in the United States on Saturday, though it was anticipated to attract a higher bid of $10m (£7.3m). Mike Provenzale, a specialist auctioneer at Heritage, described the ball as "a true one-of-one item" and "arguably the most significant soccer item that exists."

The ball was originally collected by Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser, who held onto it for over three decades before selling it in 2022 for $2.37m (£1.74m). Despite being resold in 2023, the ball failed to meet its reserve price. The shirt worn by Maradona during the same match fetched £7.1m at auction in 2022.