Few moments in football have sparked as much debate as Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal between Argentina and England. The image of Maradona’s fist in the Mexico City air, with goalkeeper Peter Shilton stretching beside him, has endured for decades; forty-four years on memories of the episode remain central whenever the two nations meet.
The match was 0-0 at halftime in a fixture charged by recent history, taking place four years after the Falklands War. Maradona ran from inside the England half and found Jorge Valdano at the edge of the area. Valdano’s flick-up steered the ball away, but England defender Steve Hodge hooked it back into his own box. Maradona and Shilton both jumped; Maradona, making up for a height disadvantage, put the ball into the net with his left hand, wheeled away in celebration and briefly looked toward the referee. English protests, including from Gary Lineker, did not overturn the decision and the goal stood.
Four minutes later Maradona scored what has been called the “Goal of the Century,” dribbling from his own half, beating four England defenders and past Shilton. Lineker pulled one back late, but Argentina held on to win and then went on to defeat Belgium and West Germany to claim their second World Cup title.
The goal stood because match officials failed to spot the handball. Referee Ali Ben Nasser was about 30 yards from the action when Hodge’s clearance dropped to Maradona and, according to Ben Nasser’s account to the BBC, both players were facing away from him. Ben Nasser said he glanced to his assistant, Bulgarian linesman Bogdan Dochev, who was moving back toward the center of the pitch and did not signal for a handball.
Dochev, who died in 2017, later told Bulgarian media that he felt something was irregular but could not intervene under FIFA rules at the time, saying his hands were “proverbially” tied, as reported by the Guardian. Ben Nasser has largely stayed out of the public eye since retirement; in 2015 he received an Argentina shirt signed by Maradona bearing the inscription “Para Ali, mi amigo eterno.”
