Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' ball to go up for auction in London

By Emre Asikci

ISTANBUL (AA) - The ball that the late Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona used to score his infamous “Hand of God” goal in the 1986 World Cup will be sold at auction next month.

The ball, which was brought to auction by Graham Budd Auctions in London, will be sold on Nov. 16 by the Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser who allowed one of the most controversial goals in history during the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal between Argentina and England.

"This ball is part of international football history - it feels like the right time to be sharing it with the world. At Mexico ‘86 I was among the 42 referees at the tournament," Ali Bin Nasser told Graham Budd Auctions.

"African referees didn’t get the same opportunities as those in Europe, so to be told by FIFA that I was chosen because I was among the best in the world was a huge honour and a career highlight," he added.

The auction will be streamed live, with prospective buyers able to register and bid online from Oct.28. The ball has been valued at £2.5 million-£3 million ($2.7 million-$3.3 million).

Maradona, hailed as one of the greatest footballers ever, died of heart failure at the age of 60 on Nov. 25, 2020.

He retired from playing football in 1997.

During his career, Maradona played for Argentina's Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Newell's Old Boys, Spanish clubs Barcelona and Sevilla, and Italian team Napoli.

Maradona was a regular player for the Argentine national team and won the 1986 FIFA World Cup.

He scored 34 goals in 91 international caps for Argentina.