The football used by Diego Maradona to score his infamous "Hand of God" goal against England at the 1986 World Cup has sold for $3.35 million at auction in the United States.
The Adidas Azteca ball was used in Argentina's quarter-final victory, when Maradona punched the ball past goalkeeper Peter Shilton before scoring the "Goal of the Century" minutes later. The sale price fell well short of Heritage Auctions' expectations of around $10 million, with specialist auctioneer Mike Provenzale calling it "arguably the most significant soccer item that exists". By contrast, the shirt Maradona wore in the same match sold for more than $9 million in 2022.
Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser kept the ball for over three decades after collecting it at full-time. He first sold it in 2022 for $2.37 million, and a subsequent 2023 auction failed to meet its reserve. Argentina went on to win the 1986 World Cup.