Maradona's Hand of God goal
What happened
In the 51st minute with the score at 0-0, Maradona jumped for the ball with England goalkeeper Peter Shilton. Maradona punched the ball into the net with his left fist. The referee Ali Bin Nasser did not see the handball and the linesman did not flag. The goal stood. Maradona later described it as scored 'a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God.' Argentina went on to win 2-1 and eventually won the tournament.
Why the law says so
This is the clearest possible handball offence. Maradona deliberately punched the ball into the net with his fist. Under Law 12, deliberately handling the ball is an offence. Scoring directly after a deliberate handball is also specifically prohibited. The goal should have been disallowed and a free kick awarded to England. With modern VAR, this would have been overturned within seconds — it was visible to everyone in the stadium and on television. The referee was in a poor position and trusted his linesman, who also missed it.
Key factors
- ✓Maradona deliberately punched the ball with his left fist
- ✓Visible to millions of television viewers worldwide in real time
- ✓No VAR in 1986 — referee had only one chance to see it
- ✓Linesman was also in a poor position and did not flag
- ✓With modern VAR this would be overturned in under 30 seconds
- ✓Maradona himself admitted it was handball after the match