Maradona left, Shilton right

The Hand of God goal (Spanish: Mano de Dios) was scored by Diego Maradona in the quarter-final match of the 1986 FIFA World Cup between 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 it is frequently referred to when the two sides meet. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (601x809, 168 KB)Goal scored by the Hand of God. Source: The Official History of the Football Association ISBN0356191451. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (601x809, 168 KB)Goal scored by the Hand of God. Source: The Official History of the Football Association ISBN0356191451. ... Diego Armando Maradona (born October 30, 1960) is an Argentine former football player. ... The 1986 Football World Cup was held in Mexico from May 31 to June 29. ... First International Scotland 0 - 0 England (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872) Largest win Ireland 0 - 13 England (Belfast, Northern Ireland; 18 February 1882) Worst defeat Hungary 7 - 1 England (Budapest, Hungary; 23 May 1954) World Cup Appearances 11 (First in 1950) Best result Winners, 1966 European Championship Appearances 7 (First... is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... Nickname: Location of Mexico City in central Mexico Coordinates: Country Mexico Federal entity Federal District Boroughs The 16 delegaciones Founded (as Tenochtitlan) c. ... Aztec Stadium, safe stadium. ...

Context

Main article: Argentina and England football rivalry

The long-term rivalry between the two footballing nations can be traced back to the controversial sending off of Argentine captain Antonio Ubaldo Rattin in the England-Argentina match of the 1966 World Cup; Argentina was knocked out of the tournament, while England went on to win the championship. In 1986, when England and Argentina met in the quarter-finals, tensions were running particularly high between the countries, due partly to the Falklands War, which had taken place just four years earlier. This Argentine win, like that of the English 20 years earlier, was en route to winning a World Cup championship. The Argentina and England football rivalry is a highly competitive sports rivalry that exists between the national football teams of the two countries, as well as their respective sets of fans. ... Misconduct in football (soccer) is any conduct by a player which is deemed by the referee to warrant a disciplinary sanction (caution or dismissal) in accordance with Law 12 the Laws of the Game. ... Antonio Ubaldo Rattín (born May 16, 1937 in Tigre, Buenos Aires Province) is a former Argentine football player, best known as a Boca Juniors midfielder, and because of an incident in a match at the 1966 World Cup. ... 1966 was a year of triumph for the host nation, England, which won in a controversial final beating West Germany 4-2. ... The 1986 Football World Cup was held in Mexico from May 31 to June 29. ... Combatants Argentina United Kingdom Commanders Presidente Leopoldo Galtieri Vice Admiral Juan Lombardo Brigadier General Ernesto Crespo Brigade General Mario Menéndez Prime minister Margaret Thatcher Admiral Sir John Fieldhouse Rear-Admiral Sandy Woodward Major General Jeremy Moore Casualties 649 killed 1,068 wounded 11,313 taken prisoner 75 fixed wing...

Goal

Drawing of the movement that lead to the 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. Image File history File links Maradonahand3. ... Image File history File links Maradonahand3. ... A diagonal can refer to a line joining two nonadjacent vertices of a polygon or polyhedron, or in contexts any upward or downward sloping line. ... Jorge Alberto Valdano (born October 4, 1955 in Las Parejas, Santa Fe Province) is a former Argentine football player and, for many, a reference in World Football, sometimes called The Philosopher of Football. ... Steve Hodge (born Nottingham, England, October 25, 1962) was an English footballer who enjoyed a high-profile club and international career in the 1980s and 1990s. ... The Midfield in relation to the football positions In association football, a midfielder is a player whose position of play is midway between the attacking strikers and the defenders (highlighted in blue on the diagram). ...

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. A football goalkeeper leaves the ground to parry a shot on goal In many team sports, a goalkeeper (termed goaltender, netminder, goalie, or keeper in some sports) is a designated player that is charged with directly preventing the opposite team from scoring by defending the goal. ... Peter Leslie Shilton OBE (born Leicester, England, 18 September 1949) was an outstanding goalkeeper who holds the record for playing more games than any other player. ... Fist can refer to the following: A hand that has the fingers curled into the palm and the thumb retracted. ... A referee presides over a game of association football (soccer). ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ...

Many people, including Shilton, did not initially realize it was a handball. Some television commentators thought the objections of the English defenders were a claim for offside, 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.'" ^[1] while the English players protested to no avail.

Incidents of players seeking to gain an advantage by breaking 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 UK media.

Rest of the match

Five minutes later, Maradona scored another goal, voted in 2002 as the greatest goal in World Cup history, in which he eluded five English outfield players (Hoddle, Reid, Sansom, Butcher and Fenwick) as well as Shilton. England scored through Gary Lineker in the 81st minute, but Argentina won the match 2-1. The Goal of the Century, also known as Greatest Goal in FIFA World Cup History, was an award given for the greatest goal ever scored in a FIFA World Cup finals. ... Glenn Hoddle (born October 27, 1957 in Hayes, London) is a football manager and former player for Tottenham Hotspur and England. ... Peter Reid (Born June 20, 1956 in Huyton, Knowsley, Lancashire) is an English former professional football player and manager. ... Kenneth Graham Sansom (born September 26, 1958 in Camberwell, London) was an English footballer who remains his countrys most capped full back. ... Terence Ian Terry Butcher (born December 28, 1958 in Singapore) is an English football manager who is currently manager of Brentford having been appointed on 24 April 2007[1]. Also formerly a professional player, he made his name as an uncompromising defender with Ipswich Town and Rangers in the 1980s. ... Terence William Terry Fenwick (born November 17, 1959 in County Durham, England) is a former football player and coach. ... Gary Winston Lineker, OBE (born 30 November 1960 in Leicester) is a former English international football striker who scored ten goals in two World Cups for the England national team and is currently a sports broadcaster for the BBC. He is also known for appearing in adverts for the Walkers...

Initial denial and reaction

At the post-game press conference, Maradona exacerbated the controversy further by claiming the goal was scored "un poco con la cabeza de Maradona y otro poco con la mano de Dios" (a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God), coining one of the most famous quotes in sport. Video and photographic evidence clearly demonstrated that he had struck the ball with his hand, which was shown on television networks and in newspapers all over the world.

Very little criticism or complaint was made against referee Ali Bin Nasser or the Bulgarian linesman, Bogdan Dochev. This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ...

For the next few days, the English press referred to the incident as "The Hand of the Devil". Maradona remained unpopular with the English press for many years. When he was later banned from football for cocaine use, the tabloid newspaper The Sun stated in a headline "Dirty Diego Gone For Good!". Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. ... This article is about a British tabloid. ...

In response to this incident and the reaction, Bobby Robson launched the "Fair Play Programme" in 1993.^[2] Sir Robert William Robson CBE, born February 18, 1933, usually known as Sir Bobby Robson, is a football manager and former football player. ...

Subsequent admission

In his autobiography, Maradona did admit that the ball came off his hand:

Now I feel I am able to say what I couldn't then. At the time I called it "the hand of God". What hand of God? It was the hand of Diego! And it felt a little bit like pickpocketing the English. (Yo soy el Diego, by Diego Armando Maradona. 2000, Editorial Planeta, p132 ISBN 84-08-03674-2.)

In 2005, on his television talk show, Maradona attempted to justify the goal as a response to the UK's victory in the Falklands War, quoting the popular Spanish saying: 'Whoever robs a thief gets a 100-year pardon.'^{[citation needed]} Combatants Argentina United Kingdom Commanders Presidente Leopoldo Galtieri Vice Admiral Juan Lombardo Brigadier General Ernesto Crespo Brigade General Mario Menéndez Prime minister Margaret Thatcher Admiral Sir John Fieldhouse Rear-Admiral Sandy Woodward Major General Jeremy Moore Casualties 649 killed 1,068 wounded 11,313 taken prisoner 75 fixed wing...

During a televised interview with Maradona in 2006, Lineker said, in reference to the goal, "Personally, I blame the referee and the linesman, not you."^{[citation needed]}

In popular culture

• Shilton's 2004 autobiography had the famous photo of the Hand of God moment on the back cover.
• In 1987, English band New Order released a song named "Touched by the Hand of God", which referred to the goal.^[3]
• Following a 1997 chess match against the computer Deep Blue, which he felt had been tainted by human interference, world chess champion Garry Kasparov compared the match to the 1986 England–Argentina game, stating in a press conference that "Maradona called it the hand of God".
• England's victory against Argentina in the 2002 World Cup was celebrated with T-shirts displaying the result and the phrase "Look, no hands!"
• There was a song by The Business that dealt with the "Hand of God" goal, entitled "Handball" on their Welcome to the Real World album.
• In 2006 a sports bar opened in Ayr, Scotland in tribute to Maradona. The Hand of God Sports Bar is staffed by employees wearing Argentina football strips and features wall-length murals of the goal.
• Some months after the match, Argus Press Software released a Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum game called Peter Shilton's Handball Maradona!, a goalkeeper simulator taking its name from the infamous event.[1][2]

1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... New Order are an English rock group formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner (vocals, guitars, synthesizers), Peter Hook (bass, electronic drums), and Stephen Morris (drums, synthesizers). ... Touched by the Hand of God was a single released by New Order in December 1987. ... The infamous Sixth game of the Deep Blue - Kasparov rematch, played in New York City on May 11, 1997 and starting at 3:00 p. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Garry Kimovich Kasparov (Russian: ; IPA: ) (born April 13, 1963, in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR) (now Azerbaijan) is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Chess Champion. ... The Business is a UK based Oi! band formed in the late 1970s. ... Ayr (Scottish Gaelic, Inbhir Àir) in the south-west of Scotland is a town situated on the Firth of Clyde. ... Motto (Latin) No one provokes me with impunity Cha togar mfhearg gun dioladh (Scottish Gaelic)1 Wha daur meddle wi me?(Scots)1 Anthem (Multiple unofficial anthems) Scotlands location in Europe Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official languages English, Gaelic, Scots Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II... The Commodore 64 is the best-selling single personal computer model of all time. ... The ZX Spectrum is a home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd. ...

See also

• Goal of the Century
• Argentina and England football rivalry

The Goal of the Century, also known as Greatest Goal in FIFA World Cup History, was an award given for the greatest goal ever scored in a FIFA World Cup finals. ... The Argentina and England football rivalry is a highly competitive sports rivalry that exists between the national football teams of the two countries, as well as their respective sets of fans. ...

References

May 19 is the 139th day of the year (140th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... New Order are an English rock group formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner (vocals, guitars, synthesizers), Peter Hook (bass, electronic drums), and Stephen Morris (drums, synthesizers). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... April 26 is the 116th day of the year (117th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Video of the Hand of God goal from YouTube
• Maradona admits to handball
• The Hand Of God by Chris Hunt, published in The Times, June 2006.