"The hand of God" ( es, La mano de Dios) was a handling
goal
A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines.
A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...
scored by Argentine footballer
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FI ...
during the
Argentina v England quarter finals match of the
1986 FIFA World Cup
The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia ha ...
. The goal was illegal under association football rules because Maradona used his hand to score, but because the referees did not have a clear view of the play and
video assistant referee
The video assistant referee (VAR) is a match official in association football who reviews decisions made by the referee.
The assistant video assistant referee (AVAR) is a current or former referee appointed to assist the VAR in the video ope ...
technology did not exist at the time, it stood to give Argentina a 1–0 lead. Argentina went on to win 2–1, with Maradona scoring a second goal known as the "
Goal of the Century
Argentina v England was a football match played on 22 June 1986 between Argentina and England in the quarter-finals of the 1986 FIFA World Cup at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The game was held four years after the Falklands War betwee ...
," en route to claiming the World Cup.
The goal's name derives from Maradona's initial response on whether he scored it illegally, stating it was made "a little with the head of Maradona, and a little with the hand of God". Maradona later said he considered the goal to be "symbolic revenge" for the United Kingdom's victory over Argentina in the
Falklands War
The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...
four years earlier.
The goal
![Maradona mano de dios](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Maradona_mano_de_dios.jpg)
Six minutes into the second half of the game, Maradona took the ball out of the box with his left leg and passed it to teammate
Jorge Valdano
Jorge Alberto Francisco Valdano Castellanos (born 4 October 1955) is an Argentine former football player, coach, and the former general manager of Real Madrid. He is currently working as a commentator for beIN Sports. Nicknamed "The Philosophe ...
. Valdano tried to take on several English
defenders
Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to:
*Defense (military)
*Defense (sports)
**Defender (association football)
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary
* ''The Defender'' (1994 f ...
, but the ball was intercepted and thrown back and forth and kicked towards England's goal by English midfielder
Steve Hodge
Stephen Brian Hodge (born 25 October 1962) is an English retired footballer who played as a midfielder. He enjoyed a high-profile club and international career in the 1980s and 1990s, the high point being reaching the 1986 World Cup quarter fin ...
.
Because of the position of the players, Maradona would have been caught
offside, 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 with
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
Peter Shilton
Peter Leslie Shilton (born 18 September 1949) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
His 30-year career included spells at 11 clubs and he has the distinction of playing over 1,000 league games, including in ...
, who stood 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, touched the ball first and hit the ball into England's goal. 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.
Tunisia
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, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
n
referee
A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...
Ali Bennaceur
Ali Ben Nasser (also spelled Ali Bennaceur, ar, علي بن ناصر; born 2 March 1944) is a Tunisian former football referee.
1986 FIFA World Cup
Argentina-England refereeing dispute
Nasser refereed the match between Argentina and England i ...
gave the goal, but after the English players' protests he sought the advice of his second linesman who confirmed the goal.
Mexican photographer Alejandro Ojeda Carbajal immortalized this moment in a photograph in which Maradona can be seen hitting the ball with his hand.
"History is already written"
In 2005, 19 years after scoring the controversial goal, Maradona confessed on a program ''
La Noche del 10 La Noche del 10 was an Argentine television show hosted by football player Diego Maradona which aired for one season in 2005.
On 15 August 2005, Maradona made his debut as host with Pelé his main guest on opening night; the two had a friendly c ...
'', that the goal was actually scored with his hand.
Several world media outlets reported the news, creating controversy. Even Peter Shilton rejected the apology, arguing that it was now too late. Maradona, a few days after the article came out, denied everything, saying that the newspaper had misquoted him. Maradona responded:
![Maradonahand3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Maradonahand3.jpg)
A few days later, ''The Sun'' newspaper confirmed that it had modified the interpretation of Maradona's words and asked to change the name to ''The Devil's Hand''. In the original text of the interview, it could be seen that Maradona had never asked for forgiveness for the goal from the Hand of God.
Falklands War and "symbolic revenge"
In the 2019 documentary film ''
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FI ...
'' directed by
Asif Kapadia
Asif Kapadia (born 1972) is a British filmmaker.
Academy Award, BAFTA and Grammy winning director Asif Kapadia has made his name directing visually striking films exploring ‘outsiders’, characters living in extreme circumstances, fighting ...
, Maradona links the event to the
Falklands War
The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...
four years earlier, saying "
, 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."
Ivan Lopez-Muniz wrote in 2017 that in Argentina the "entire nation", including the
Government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
and the
Argentine Football Association
The Argentine Football Association ( es, Asociación del Fútbol Argentino, ; AFA) is the governing body of football in Argentina based in Buenos Aires. It organises the main divisions of Argentine league system (from Primera División to Torn ...
, 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 manager
Alf Ramsay
Sir Alfred Ernest Ramsey (22 January 1920 – 28 April 1999) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he represented the England national team and captained the side, but he is best known for his time as England manager f ...
calling the Argentine players animals after Argentine Captain
Antonio Rattín was sent off against England in the
1966 World Cup
The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 July to 30 July 1966. The England national football team defeated West Germany 4-2 in the ...
, as well as Britain's invasions of the future Argentine capital
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
in
1806
Events
January–March
* January 1
** The French Republican Calendar is abolished.
** The Kingdom of Bavaria is established by Napoleon.
* January 5 – The body of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, lies in state in the Painted Hall ...
and
1807
Events
January–March
* January 7 – The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland issues an Order in Council prohibiting British ships from trading with France or its allies.
* January 20 – The Sierra Leone Company, faced with b ...
, and its seizure of the
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...
(known to Argentines as ''Las Malvinas'') "
in 1832".
Link to Howler Magazine
Lopez-Muniz concluded that, because of the combination of high and low standards, "Quite simply, it means that Maradona, on that day, was an Englishman."
[
]
Subsequent use
The "Hand of God" became a popular phrase and is still referred to around the world. Some other famous football handballs are:
*In the first round of the 1990 World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being M ...
between Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
and the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, in the first half of the 2–0 win, a Soviet attack failed as Maradona intercepted the shot with "the hand of God" without the referee noticing.
*In the 2004 AFC Asian Cup Final
Li Ming (; born 26 January 1971) is a Chinese football coach and a former international player.
As a footballer, he played as a midfielder and spent his whole career with Dalian Wanda FC where he won eight league titles and three Chinese FA C ...
between China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, Koji Nakata scored Japan's second goal by hand, which would later be stood, much to the dismay of Chinese fans as the Chinese hosts lost 3–1 to the eventual champions.
*During a league match against Espanyol
Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league sy ...
on 9 June 2007, Argentinian Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
player Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...
scored by launching himself at the ball and guiding it past the goalkeeper with his hand in similar fashion to Maradona's Hand of God goal.
*During the final minutes of the second leg of the play-off for the 2010 World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
between Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
and France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, William Gallas
William Eric Gallas (born 17 August 1977) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played most of his footballing career in France and England before finishing his career in Australia with A-League club Perth Glo ...
scored the decisive goal from a Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best players ...
assist that gave France a 2–1 aggregate victory and qualified them for the World Cup. Controversy followed immediately as replays showed Henry repeatedly centering the ball with his hands moments prior to passing the ball to Gallas. Despite protests from the Irish side, Swedish referee Martin Hansson
Martin Hansson (born 6 April 1971) is a Swedish former football referee. He was a full international referee for FIFA between 2001 and 2013.
Hansson works as a firefighter outside refereeing and is fluent in Swedish, English and German. His h ...
did not admonish Henry and allowed the goal. After the match ended, sports media from around the world gave Henry's cross several nicknames, ranging from "The New Hand of God", to the more scathing "The Hand of Frog", the latter using an insulting term towards French people.
*Uruguayan footballer Luis Suárez
Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Uruguayan Primera División club Nacional and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Pistolero'' ('The Gunman'), he is ...
illegally stopped with his hand a likely goal from Ghanaian
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...
Dominic Adiyiah
Dominic Adiyiah (born 29 November 1989) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a striker.
Club career
Early career
Adiyiah began his football career at Feyenoord Ghana. He spent several years in Gomoa Fetteh, where the academy is ...
in the quarter-finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
. Suárez was shown the red card. At the subsequent press conference, the striker said he had done so with the "Hand of God", and it later became popularly known as "Hand of God 2.0".
*On 11 February 2020, in Group G of the 2020 AFC Cup
The 2020 AFC Cup was the 17th edition of the AFC Cup, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The competition was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic after group stage matches on 11 March ...
, Joshua Grommen of Ceres-Negros F.C.
United City Football Club is a Philippines, Filipino professional association football, football club based in New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac, that competes in Philippines Football League (PFL), the top-tier league of football in the Philippine ...
scored the second goal of their game against Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng FC
Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng Football Club ( km, ក្លឹបបាល់ទាត់ព្រះខ័នរាជស្វាយរៀង), formerly named Preah Khan Reach FC until May 2013, is a professional football club based in the pro ...
by diverting the ball into the net with his hand. Despite vocal protests from the opposing side, the goal was given as officials had failed to notice the blatant handball.
The legacy of “Hand of God” has extended beyond the realm of football. Paolo Sorrentino
Paolo Sorrentino (; born 31 May 1970) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and writer. His 2013 film ''The Great Beauty'' won the Academy Award, the Golden Globe, and the Bafta Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In Italy he was honoure ...
’s semi-autobiographical 2021 drama is named after the incident and references Diego Maradona’s influence on 1980s Naples.
Maradona’s shirt
After the game Maradona swapped his shirt in the tunnel with Steve Hodge
Stephen Brian Hodge (born 25 October 1962) is an English retired footballer who played as a midfielder. He enjoyed a high-profile club and international career in the 1980s and 1990s, the high point being reaching the 1986 World Cup quarter fin ...
. After many years of requests to sell the shirt and a period of 20 years where it was on loan at the National Football Museum
The National Football Museum is England's national museum of football. It is based in the Urbis building in Manchester city centre, and preserves, conserves and displays important collections of football memorabilia.
The museum was originally b ...
, in 2022 Hodge placed it up for auction with auctioneers Sotheby's
Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...
. On 4 May 2022, the shirt sold at auction for £7,100,000, a world record for a piece of sports memorabilia.
See also
* ''Maradona, the Hand of God
''Maradona - La mano de Dios'', internationally released as ''Maradona, the Hand of God'', is a 2007 Italian-Argentine biographical film directed by Marco Risi. It is based on real life events of footballer Diego Maradona.
Production
The film w ...
''
* The Hand of God (film)
''The Hand of God'' ( it, È stata la mano di Dio, ) is a 2021 Italian drama film written, directed, and produced by Paolo Sorrentino. It stars Filippo Scotti, Toni Servillo, Teresa Saponangelo, Marlon Joubert, Luisa Ranieri, Renato Carpentie ...
Explanatory footnotes
References
External links
*
Top 10 Famous Soccer Handballs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hand of God
1986 FIFA World Cup
Football in England
Football in Argentina
Diego Maradona
FIFA World Cup controversies
Cheating in sports