Diego Maradona’s daughter insists the Argentina jersey set to sell at auction for £4m is not the one he wore for the ‘Hand of God’ and ‘Goal of the Century’ in 1986
Diego Maradona’s daughter has insisted that the Argentina jersey set to sell at auction for £4million this month is not the shirt he was wearing when he scored his famous double against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final.
This comes a day after it was announced that former England midfielder Steve Hodge was putting the shirt up for sale in a ‘dedicated online action’, with it also going on display in Sotheby’s London showroom on Bond Street during the April 20-May 4 bidding period.
Maradona’s daughter Dalma told Radio Metro: ‘That ex-England player thinks he’s got my dad’s second-half shirt but there’s a confusion. He has the first-half top. I wanted to explain that to people so that whoever wants to buy it knows the truth.’
When asked who has the second-half shirt, she added: ‘My mum hasn’t got it. I know who has but I’m not going to say who’s got it so as not to expose that person.
‘All I can say is that the one that’s being auctioned is not the one my dad scored his goals with.’
Sotheby’s responded to Dalma’s claims on Thursday, insisting they were ‘false’.
A spokeswoman said: ‘There was indeed a different shirt worn by Maradona in the first half but there are clear differences between that and what was worn during the goals.
‘Prior to putting this shirt for sale, we did extensive dilligence and scientific research on the item to make sure it was the shirt worn by Maradona in the second half for the two goals.’
She added: ‘This object has clear provenance, it is being consigned by the man that kicked Maradona the ball on the Hand of God play.
‘Maradona acknowledges the provenance himself, in his book ‘Touched by God’, and he recalls giving it to Steve Hodge.
‘It’s been in the National Football Museum for 20 years, where countless people have seen it. There has never been a claim that it’s not the shirt.’
Sotheby’s hired an expert outside firm to Photomatch the shirt that is being auctioned which had found ‘multiple conclusive matches’ to the one Maradona scored his two second-half goals with.
A catalogue note for the item states: ‘Sotheby’s worked with Resolution Photomatching in order to match the shirt to both goals examining unique details on various elements of the item, including the patch, stripes, and numbering.
‘Resolution Photomatching was able to make a conclusive photomatch to the celebration following ‘The Hand of God’ goal.
Maradona scored two of the most memorable goals in World Cup history to knock the Three Lions out at the quarter-final stage in the 1986 tournament in Mexico.
During the quarter-final, the late great former Argentina captain rose above Peter Shilton to punch his side into the lead at the Azteca Stadium and the officials failed to spot that he had handled the ball.
At the time, the forward described the goal as being made “a little with the head of Maradona, and a little with the hand of God”.
The mercurial Napoli legend swapped shirts with England midfielder Steve Hodge after the last-eight showdown.
