The Hand of God is the name given to the goal scored with this part of the body by Argentine soccer player Diego Maradona in the match between Argentina and England in the quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup, played on June 22, at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, Mexico, in the North goal. The other was the so-called "Goal of the Century", also scored by Maradona.

Maradona himself declared after the match that the goal was scored "a little with his head and a little with the hand of God", and from then on the world press baptized it.

The Goal

After the first half, the match was still tied. Maradona began to unbalance the match, and in the 6th minute of the second half came one of the most controversial plays in the history of the World Cup: Maradona took the ball outside the area and with his left foot passed it, between several English defenders, to his teammate Jorge Valdano, who tried to take it, but the ball was intercepted and thrown back and up, in his eagerness to clear, by defender Steve Hodge.

Due to the momentum of the play, Maradona would have been offside, but because the ball came from an opponent, he was correctly cleared. Already inside the box and with the ball falling, Maradona went in search of the ball and went to goalkeeper Peter Shilton, 20 centimeters taller than him. Shilton jumped forward with his right hand, at the same time that Maradona did so with his left arm outstretched. Maradona's fist, close to his head, struck the ball first, which rolled into the goal. Maradona began to celebrate, glancing sideways at the referee and linesman, and relaxed when the goal was validated.

Referee Ali Bennaceur, from Tunisia, validated the goal, but after the British players complained, he asked for advice from his second flagman, who ratified the goal.

Mexican photographer Alejandro Ojeda Carbajal immortalized this moment in a photograph that clearly shows the hand strike.

In his biography, Maradona later said:

Now I can tell what at that moment I could not, what at that moment I defined as "The hand of God"... What a hand of God, it was Diego's hand! And it was like stealing the Englishmen's wallet as well...

Used since

Since Maradona's goal, the phrase "hand of God" has been used in various instances in the sporting world involving the hand for an illegal or controversial play.

In the first round match of the 1990 World Cup between Argentina and the Soviet Union, in the first half, during the momentary 0-0 draw, a Soviet attack could not end in a goal because Diego Maradona intercepted the shot with "the hand of God", unnoticed by the referee.

During a league match against Espanyol on June 9, 2007, Barcelona's Argentine player Lionel Messi scored by diving towards the ball and guiding it past the goalkeeper with his hand. similar to Maradona's Hand of God goal.

In the second leg of the 2010 World Cup playoff between Ireland and France, the goal by William Gallas that tied the game 1-1 and qualified France for the World Cup was made thanks to another controversial play, a handball by French player Thierry Henry that was not sanctioned by Swedish referee Martin Hansson, and was baptized by the press as the "New Hand of God".

Uruguay's Luis Suárez saved a goal with his hand in the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup. In the press conference afterwards, the striker said that he had done it with "the hand of God. "9

On June 22, 2011, in a match corresponding to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup Javier "Chicharito" Hernández scored the second goal of "El Tri" helping himself with his hand, which meant Mexico's pass to the final of such tournament.

In the 2016 Copa América Centenario, Peruvian player Raúl Ruidíaz scored a goal with his hand, which after several minutes of protests by Brazilian players, the referee validated it; thus, Peru defeated Brazil 1-0 and qualified to the quarterfinals.

On February 11, 2020, in Group G of the 2020 AFC Cup, Josh Grommen of Ceres-Negros F.C. scored the second goal of their match against Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng Football Club by deflecting the ball into the net with his hand. Despite vocal protests from the opposing side, the goal was awarded because the referees failed to notice the blatant handball.

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