London: The Argentina jersey that Diego Maradona was wearing when he scored the controversial ‘Hand of God’ goal against England in the 1986 World Cup will soon be up for sale.
The online auction opens on April 20 and renowned auctioneer Sotheby’s said on Wednesday that the jersey may fetch more than 4 million pounds.
The No. 10 shirt, which will be on display at Sotheby’s London showroom during the April 20-May 4 bidding period, is “on a small list of the most important sports memorabilia items in the world,” said Sotheby’s head of streetwear and modern collectibles Brahm Wachter.
“I’ll never get to handle anything this good again… The moment is iconic in the history of sports,” Wachter said.
Considered by many to be the greatest footballer of all time, Maradona scored the first of his two goals in the quarterfinal against England with a header. But the ball had bounced off Maradona’s fist, which the referee missed. There was no Video referral those days to check the validity of the goal.
Maradona later admitted that it had been scored ‘a little with the head of Maradona, and a little with the hand of God.”
Maradona made up for that blot with a sensational second goal which saw him dribble past seven-eight England players before beating goalkeeper Peter Shilton. It was voted ‘goal of the century’ in a FIFA poll in 2002.
Argentina went on to win the 1986 World Cup, beating then West Germany 3-2.
Maradona died in November 2020 after suffering a cardiac arrest.
