THE referee who is selling Maradona's "Hand of God" ball for £3million blamed the linesman over one of the most famous World Cup blunders of all time.
Tunisian Ali bin Nasser, 78, recognised the Argentine legend used his hand to score the opening goal in his side's 2-1 quarter-final win over England at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
But yesterday he said that Bulgarian assistant referee Bogdan Dochev did not signal that he had seen the handball so Ali gave the goal.
The controversial strike turned Maradona into a hero to thousands of Scottish football fans and gave them ammunition to wind up the Auld Enemy. The Tartan Army even had its own song for the goal.
Ali said: "Mistakes happen. It is part of football, part of the game. We are human beings and humans make mistakes.
"In 1986, it was no different. But we had instructions from Fifa that there were no specialised linesmen back then.
This story is from the November 02, 2022 edition of Daily Record.
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This story is from the November 02, 2022 edition of Daily Record.
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