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Was Maradona’s “Hand of God” Goal Legal?
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Diego Maradona leaps to score the Hand of God goal past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton, as England defenders look on, during the 1986 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal.
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Diego Maradona leaps to score the Hand of God goal past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton, as England defenders look on, during the 1986 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal.
Hand of God Argentine footballer Diego Maradona (in a blue shirt) outjumping English goalkeeper Peter Shilton to score the infamous “hand of God” goal during the 1986 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal on June 22 at the Azteca Stadium, Mexico City.

Was Maradona’s “Hand of God” Goal Legal?

Written by
Tushaar Kuthiala
Tushaar Kuthiala has over a decade of experience in news media, content creation, and digital marketing. Over the course of his career, Tushaar has written features and articles on sports, geopolitics,...
Tushaar Kuthiala
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History

“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”) was how legendary Argentine footballer Diego Maradona described one of the sport’s most controversial moments, a technically illegal goal he scored against England in the 1986 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal. It gave rise to the infamous “hand of God” name for the goal.

In the 51st minute of the World Cup quarterfinal match, Maradona, widely acclaimed as one of the world’s best players, scored by using his hand to knock the ball into the goal, an action that is not allowed under association football rules. Although video replays clearly showed that the ball had touched his hand, the goal was allowed to stand because neither referee Ali Bin Nasser nor his assistant on the touchline, Bogdan Dochev, saw the handball on the field, and they could not access the replays at that time. In a 2022 interview with Spanish sports media portal AS, Nasser stated that he did not have a clear view of Maradona’s clash with English goalkeeper Peter Shilton and was left with no choice but to follow FIFA’s pre-match instructions. He noted:

[FIFA] said if your colleague is in better position and has a better picture of the action than you, you’re going to have to take his opinion.

It is worth pointing out that had any of the match officials been able to definitively confirm that Maradona had manipulated the ball with his hand, the Argentine player may have been ejected from the game for committing a serious foul and would not have been on the field to score what was later dubbed the “goal of the century” by pundits and fans. Just a few minutes after “the hand of God,” Maradona made a 60-yard (55-meter) run with the ball, dribbling past five English players, to score his second goal of the game. The final score was 2–1 in Argentina’s favor; as a result, England was knocked out of the tournament, and Argentina went on to lift the World Cup.

Tushaar Kuthiala