The Hand of God goal (Spanish: Mano de Dios) was scored as the result of an illegal (but unpenalized) handball by Diego Maradona in the quarter-final match of the 1986 FIFA World Cup England and Argentina, played on 22 June 1986 in Mexico City's Estadio Azteca. Argentina won 2–1 and for some English people the legacy of this event perhaps best symbolizes the rivalry between the two teams, and is usually mentioned whenever the two sides meet.
Goal
Six minutes into the second half, the score was 0–0. Maradona cut inside from the right flank and played a diagonal low pass to the edge of the area to teammate Jorge Valdano and continued his run in the hope of a one-two movement. Maradona's pass, however, was played slightly behind Valdano and reached England's Steve Hodge, the left-midfielder who had dropped back to defend.
Hodge (who swapped shirts with Maradona after the game) tried to hook the ball clear but miscued it. The ball screwed off his foot and into the penalty area, toward Maradona, who had continued his run. England goalkeeper Peter Shilton duly came out of his goal to punch the ball clear, with his considerable height (6'1" or 185cm) making him clear favourite to beat Maradona (5'5" or 165cm) to it. However, Maradona reached it first—with the outside of his left fist. The ball went into the goal, and the referee, (Tunisian Ali Bin Nasser), not having seen the infringement, allowed the goal. Many people, including Shilton, did not initially realize it was a handball. Some television commentators thought the objections of the English defenders were claims for offside (Maradona could not have been offside because the previous touch was by an England player), and it was only clear from other camera angles—not the original one—that there had been an offence.
The Argentine players and fans celebrated (video shows Maradona looking toward the referee; he later said "I was waiting for my teammates to embrace me, and no one came . . . I told them, 'Come hug me, or the referee isn't going to allow it.While the English players protested to no avail.
Incidents of players seeking to gain an advantage by skirting the laws of the game, in the hope that the referee does not see, are common. This incident has derived its notoriety largely from the importance and closeness of the match, the animosity between the nations, and the responses of Maradona and the English media.
Six minutes into the second half, the score was 0–0. Maradona cut inside from the right flank and played a diagonal low pass to the edge of the area to teammate Jorge Valdano and continued his run in the hope of a one-two movement. Maradona's pass, however, was played slightly behind Valdano and reached England's Steve Hodge, the left-midfielder who had dropped back to defend.
Hodge (who swapped shirts with Maradona after the game) tried to hook the ball clear but miscued it. The ball screwed off his foot and into the penalty area, toward Maradona, who had continued his run. England goalkeeper Peter Shilton duly came out of his goal to punch the ball clear, with his considerable height (6'1" or 185cm) making him clear favourite to beat Maradona (5'5" or 165cm) to it. However, Maradona reached it first—with the outside of his left fist. The ball went into the goal, and the referee, (Tunisian Ali Bin Nasser), not having seen the infringement, allowed the goal. Many people, including Shilton, did not initially realize it was a handball. Some television commentators thought the objections of the English defenders were claims for offside (Maradona could not have been offside because the previous touch was by an England player), and it was only clear from other camera angles—not the original one—that there had been an offence.
The Argentine players and fans celebrated (video shows Maradona looking toward the referee; he later said "I was waiting for my teammates to embrace me, and no one came . . . I told them, 'Come hug me, or the referee isn't going to allow it.While the English players protested to no avail.
Incidents of players seeking to gain an advantage by skirting the laws of the game, in the hope that the referee does not see, are common. This incident has derived its notoriety largely from the importance and closeness of the match, the animosity between the nations, and the responses of Maradona and the English media.
Video of the Hand of God goal from YouTube
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