The football Diego Maradona used to score his infamous "Hand of God" goal against England at the 1986 World Cup is set to be auctioned by Heritage Auctions in the United States, with bidding scheduled from Aug. 21 to 23.
The opening bid is set at $2.5 million, though the auction house estimates final offers could surpass $10 million. The ball previously went to auction in 2022 and 2023, with bids reaching nearly $2 million on each occasion. Tunisian referee Ali Bennaceur stated in a 2023 letter that he recovered the match ball, obtained his assistants' signatures on it, and kept it for over three decades.
The controversial quarter-final goal — which Maradona later said was scored "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the Hand of God" — helped Argentina win the match and ultimately the 1986 World Cup. The jersey Maradona wore in the same game sold for a record $9.3 million in 2022.