Maradona ‘Hand of God’ ball could fetch Rs 28 crore at auction

The football that Argentina legend Diego Maradona used to score the controversial yet famous ‘Hand of God’ goal against England in the 1986 World Cup is set to go up for auction and can reel in as much as £3m+ (Rs28crores approx).
The Adidas Azteca ball has been in possession of Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser who allowed the controversial goal in Argentina’s 2-1 victory. The 79-year-old has now decided to put up the sporting memorabilia for auction after seeing a Maradona jersey sell for £7m earlier this year.
“As per FIFA’s instructions issued before the tournament I looked to my linesman for confirmation of the validity of the goal – he made his way back to the halfway line indicating he was satisfied that the goal should stand. At the end of the match the England head coach Bob Robson said to me ‘You did a good job but the linesman was irresponsible’,” said Nasser.

Adam Gascoigne, of Graham Budd Auctions, believes the ball will fetch good money because it was used throughout the match. “Unlike today where you have a multi-ball system in place at games, this was the only ball used in the match from start to finish so there is no doubt this was the ball used Maradona to score his Hand of God goal,” said Gascoigne.
The iconic ball will go under the hammer in London on November 16