 The moment when Diego Maradona flicks the ball with the hand past the outstretched arm of Peter Shilton | |
| Native name | La mano de Dios |
|---|---|
| Date | 22 June 1986 (1986-06-22) (Argentina v England match) |
| Venue | Estadio Azteca |
| Location | Mexico City |
| Type | Association football goal |
| Participants | Diego Maradona Peter Shilton |
"The Hand of God" (Spanish:La mano de Dios) is the name given to the openinggoal awarded toArgentine footballerDiego Maradona duringArgentina's victory over England at the1986 FIFA World Cup. The goal, which was illegal under association football rules, was allowed to stand because none of the match referees had a clear view of Maradona using his left hand to score. After the goal gave Argentina a 1–0 lead in the quarter final game, Maradona went onto score a second goal known as the "Goal of the Century" four minutes later. Argentina eventually won the quarter final 2–1; en route to them winning their second World Cup.
The goal's name derives from Maradona's initial response on whether he scored it legally, stating it was made "a little with the head of Maradona, and a little with the hand of God". In time, Maradona acknowledged he had illegally handled the ball, stating that he considered the goal to be "symbolic revenge" for Argentina's defeat by the United Kingdom in the 1982Falklands War.
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 teammateJorge Valdano. Valdano tried to take on several Englishdefenders, but the ball was intercepted and thrown back and forth and kicked towards England's goal by English midfielderSteve Hodge.
Because of the position of the players, Maradona would have been caughtoffside, 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 withgoalkeeperPeter 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 the English goalkeeper and into the net. Maradona began to celebrate while glancing sideways at the referee and the linesman for confirmation. He then fully celebrated the goal when it was given.
Although theTunisianrefereeAli Ben Nasser initially gave the goal, protests from the English players' made him seek advice from his second linesman who confirmed the goal. Maradona was interviewed about what happened after the game; his reply immortalised the incident:
Ahora sí puedo contar lo que en aquel momento no podía, lo que en aquel momento definí como «La mano de Dios»... ¿Qué mano de Dios? ¡fue la mano del Diego!
Translation:Now I can say what I couldn't at that moment, what I defined at that time asThe Hand of God. What hand of God? It was the hand of Diego!
— Diego Maradona, in his autobiography[1]
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 the opener in the quarter final game between Argentina and England.[2]
In 2005, 19 years after scoring the goal, Maradona admitted on the Argentinean television programLa Noche del 10 that he had scored the goal with his hand. Several world media outlets reported Maradona apology for the handball creating controversy.[3] Peter Shilton rejected the apology, saying that it was now too late.[4]
In the 2019 documentary filmDiego Maradona directed byAsif Kapadia, Maradona links the event to theFalklands War four years earlier, saying "[w]e, as Argentinians, didn't know what the military was up to. They told us that we were winning the war. But in reality, England was winning 20–0. It was tough. The hype made it seem like we were going to play out another war. I knew it was my hand. It wasn't my plan but the action happened so fast that the linesman didn't see me putting my hand in. The referee looked at me and he said: 'Goal.' It was a nice feeling like some sort of symbolic revenge against the English."[5]
Ivan Lopez-Muniz wrote in 2017 that in Argentina the "entire nation", including theGovernment and theArgentine Football Association, still "praises the most blatant act of cheating ever caught on tape", partly because "Argentines are humans, and humans are hypocrites" but also because of a long history of grievances against the United Kingdom, that includes not only the 1982 Falklands War, but other matters such as England managerAlf Ramsay calling the Argentine players "animals" after Argentine CaptainAntonio Rattín was sent off against England in the1966 World Cup, as well as Britain's invasions of the future Argentine capitalBuenos Aires in1806 and1807, and its reassertion of sovereignty over theFalkland Islands (known to Argentines asLas Malvinas) "in 1832".[6][a]
Other football observers have also called the goal a physical embodiment ofviveza criolla (roughly translating to 'native cunning'), a philosophy commonly associated with South America which more or less justifies the path taken to succeed even if it is unfair.[7]
The "Hand of God" became a popular phrase and is still referred to around the world. Some other famous football handballs are:
The legacy of "Hand of God" has extended beyond the realm of football.Paolo Sorrentino’s semi-autobiographical2021 drama is named after the incident and references Diego Maradona's influence on 1980s Naples.
After the game Maradona swapped his shirt in the tunnel withSteve Hodge. After many years of requests to sell the shirt and a period of 20 years where it was on loan at theNational Football Museum, in 2022 Hodge placed it up for auction with auctioneersSotheby's.[16] On the 4 May 2022, the shirt sold at auction for £7,100,000, a world record for a piece of sports memorabilia.[17]
But people in Argentina continue to celebrate the Hand of God. The Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (AFA) includes the play in its promo reels. The Argentine government airs it on public TV. An entire nation praises the most blatant act of cheating ever caught on tape. ... Because Argentines are humans, and humans are hypocrites. But there is also all that history, the stuff I mentioned before, as well as our failed attempt to reclaim Las Malvinas in 1982. ... Quite simply, it means that Maradona, on that day, was an Englishman.(Link to Howler Magazine)
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