The Hand of God

Lore & Background

The goal's name derives from Maradona's initial response when asked whether he scored it legally. He said it was "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God". Later, Maradona acknowledged he had illegally handled the ball, saying he considered the goal "symbolic revenge" for the United Kingdom's defeat of Argentina in the 1982 Falklands War. In August 2026 the match ball, once owned by referee Ali Ben Nasser, sold at auction for $3.3 million.

Reader's Guide

Six minutes into the second half of the quarter-final game, Maradona took the ball out of the box with his left leg and passed it to teammate Jorge Valdano. Valdano tried to take on several English defenders, but the ball was intercepted, thrown back and forth, and kicked toward England's goal by English midfielder Steve Hodge. Because of the players' positions, Maradona would have been caught offside, but as the ball came off an opponent, there was no offside offence. Alone inside the penalty box and with the ball dropping down, Maradona contested the ball with goalkeeper Peter Shilton, who stood 20 centimetres (8 inches) taller than Maradona. Shilton jumped forward with his right hand, while Maradona did so with his left arm outstretched. Maradona's fist, which was raised close to his head, struck the ball first, causing the ball to loop over Shilton and into the net. Maradona began to celebrate while glancing sideways at the referee and the linesman for confirmation. He fully celebrated the goal when it was given. Although the Tunisian referee Ali Ben Nasser initially gave the goal, protests from the English players made him seek advice from his second linesman, who confirmed it. Maradona later wrote in his autobiography. Mexican photographer Alejandro Ojeda Carbajal captured the moment in a photograph that unequivocally shows Maradona handling the ball with his left hand moments before scoring.

Did You Know?

• In 2005, Maradona admitted on the Argentinean television program La Noche del 10 that he had scored the goal with his hand.
• The match ball Maradona used to score the goal was offered for auction in November 2020, at Graham Budd Auctions, but failed to sell, despite a bid of £2m.
• After the game, Maradona swapped his shirt in the tunnel with Steve Hodge. In 2022 Hodge placed it up for auction with auctioneers Sotheby's.