Peter Shilton is not over Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal against England 34 years ago in Mexico as the former Three Lions Goalkeeper admits he’s unhappy the Argentine great never issued an apology.
Maradona opened the scoring for Argentina with an infamous goal where he appeared to handle the ball past Shilton, to knock England out of the competition in the quarter-finals.
Maradona had clearly bent the rules to put his team ahead, but four minutes later, he went on to score one of the greatest goals ever seen at the World Cup when he dribbled from his own half, through to England’s, running the opposition’s defence ragged, before slotting into an empty net.
The former Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell’s Old Boys playmaker tragically lost his life after suffering a heart attack at his home in Buenos Aires on Wednesday night.
But Shilton, even after Maradona’s passing, insists the Argentine showed “no sportsmanship” after finding the back of the net with his hand at the Mexico 1986 World Cup.
The former goalkeeper wrote in his article for MailOnline: “My life has long been linked with that of Diego Maradona – and not in the way I would have liked.
“But I am saddened to hear of his passing at such a young age. He was undoubtedly the greatest player I ever faced and my thoughts are with his family.
“It has bothered me over the years. I won’t lie about that now. People say I should have cleared the ball anyway and that I let a smaller man outjump me. That’s rubbish. He had the run on me but that can happen.
“He wouldn’t have punched it if he knew he could head it, would he? Of course not. So I am OK with all that.
“No, what I don’t like is that he never apologized.”
“Never at any stage did he say he had cheated and that he would like to say sorry. Instead, he used his ‘Hand of God’ line. That wasn’t right.
“It seems he had greatness in him but sadly no sportsmanship”
12 thoughts on “Shilton criticises Maradona over ‘Hand of God’ goal after Argentine’s death”