Maradona's 'Hand of God' ball auctioned for £2.5m

The football used by Diego Maradona for his iconic 'hand of God' goal at the 1986 World Cup has been sold for £2.5m at Heritage Auctions in the United States. This ball, collected by referee Ali Bin Nasser after the match, was expected to fetch around $10m but ultimately sold for a lower price. Bin Nasser had kept the ball for over thirty years and confirmed it was the only one used in the match, a detail verified by independent authentication. The same auction saw the shirt worn by Maradona during the match sell for £7.1m in 2022.