A historic football has changed hands at auction in the United States. The ball was used during Argentina’s 1986 World Cup quarter-final match against England, in which Diego Maradona scored two notable goals.
During that contest, Maradona used his hand to strike the ball past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton, a controversial moment he later described in mixed terms, attributing the goal partly to himself and partly to divine intervention. The same player then scored again in the match by dribbling past multiple English defenders before finding the net, an achievement that gained international recognition.
The ball sold for $3.3m (£2.5m) through Heritage Auctions. The sale price fell considerably below initial expectations, with specialists having predicted the item would command closer to $10m (£7.3m). An auctioneer from Heritage characterized the piece as exceptionally rare, describing it as potentially the most important artifact in soccer history.
The ball’s provenance traces back to Tunisian official Ali Bin Nasser, who refereed the 1986 match and retained the Adidas Azteca ball following the final whistle. He maintained possession for over thirty years before selling it. Documentation includes a letter signed by Bin Nasser in 2023 confirming the ball’s authenticity, supported by independent verification.
The item had previously sold in 2022 for $2.37m (£1.74m). It was later offered for auction in 2023 but failed to sell when bidding did not reach the minimum threshold. Separately, the jersey Maradona wore during that same match achieved a sale price of £7.1m when auctioned in 2022.
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