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

The football utilized by Diego Maradona for his legendary "Hand of God" goal during the 1986 World Cup has been auctioned for £2.5 million. Maradona famously maneuvered the ball past England's goalkeeper Peter Shilton in Argentina's 2-1 quarter-final victory over their rivals. Post the game, he described the scoring method as a combination of his head and his hand.

Maradona subsequently netted what came to be known as the "goal of the century" in the same match, weaving past five England players before slotting the ball past Shilton. Despite the ball fetching $3.3 million (£2.5 million) at Heritage Auctions in the United States on Saturday, it had been anticipated to command a higher price of $10 million (£7.3 million).

Mike Provenzale, a specialist auctioneer at Heritage, remarked to Reuters prior to the auction: "It's a true one-of-one item. Arguably the most significant soccer item that exists." Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser, who oversaw the match in 1986, procured the Adidas Azteca ball at full-time and held onto it for over three decades.

In 2023, he affixed his signature to a letter affirming it as the solitary ball employed in the match, a claim corroborated by additional independent authentication. Bin Nasser sold the ball in 2022 for $2.37 million (£1.74 million). Its new owner made it available for auction again in 2023, but bids fell short of the preset minimum value, thereby failing to sell. The shirt worn by Maradona during the same match fetched £7.1 million at auction in 2022.