The football with which Diego Maradona scored his famous ‘hand of God’ goal at the 1986 World Cup has sold at auction for £2.5m

The ‘Hand of God’ football was previously sold in 2022

Maradona famously punched the ball past goalkeeper Peter Shilton in Argentina’s 2-1 quarter-final win over England.

After the game, he told reporters it had been scored “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God”.

Maradona later scored what became known as the ‘goal of the century’ in the same game, dribbling past five England outfield players before slotting the ball past Shilton.

Though it sold for $3.3m (£2.5m) at Heritage Auctions in the United States on Saturday, the ball had been expected to fetch nearer $10m (£7.3m).

Speaking to Reuters before the auction, Mike Provenzale, a specialist auctioneer at Heritage, said: “It’s a true one-of-one item. Arguably the most significant soccer item that exists.”

Tunisian Ali Bin Nasser, who refereed the match in 1986, collected the Adidas Azteca ball at full-time and kept it for more than three decades.

In 2023, he signed a letter to confirm it was the only ball used during the match, which has also been confirmed by further independent authentication.

Bin Nasser sold the ball in 2022 for $2.37m (£1.74m). Its new owner again put it up for auction in 2023 though it did not sell as bids did not meet the minimum value set.

The shirt worn by Maradona during the same match sold for £7.1m at auction in 2022.

According to MLS Disciplinary Committee official announcement, Inter Miami captain Lionel Messi has been fined for his confrontational conduct with an opponent during a match.

Official MLS Announcement

The MLS Disciplinary Committee has issued an undisclosed fine to Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi for violating the league’s policy regarding placing a hand on an opponent’s face/head/neck in and after the 101st minute of Inter Miami’s match against the Philadelphia Union on August 19. (End of announcement)

The incident mentioned in the announcement occurred near the center circle in the second half, away from the ball, when Messi and Philadelphia Union midfielder Quinn Sullivan became involved in a heated verbal exchange. Video footage showed Messi making a short swinging motion and striking Sullivan on the head, after which the referee intervened to separate the two players.

At the moment the physical contact occurred, referee Philipp Dujic had his back to the incident, so he did not show a yellow or red card at the time, and the game was allowed to continue without interruption.

The MLS Disciplinary Committee reviewed the relevant footage on Friday and ultimately decided to issue Messi an undisclosed fine rather than impose an additional suspension, meaning he remains eligible to play for Inter Miami in their upcoming matches.

Al Nassr faced Al Riyadh. Ronaldo came off the bench in the 62nd minute for his 2026-27 season debut and scored his first goal of the campaign.

The 41-year-old entered the match in the 62nd minute, marking his first appearance of the season.

In the 83rd minute, Ronaldo turned and finished from close range in the penalty area, extending Al Nassr’s lead to 4-0.

This was Ronaldo’s first goal of the season. With this strike, he has now scored in 25 consecutive seasons, bringing his career total to 977 goals.