Diego Maradona’s Hand of God shirt: Peter Shilton says he would have ripped it up
Peter Shilton says he would have ripped up Diego Maradona’s famous ‘Hand of God’ shirt that was sold for £7.1 million this week.
Shilton, 72, was the goalkeeper Maradona out-jumped during the 1986 World Cup quarter-final classic between England and Argentina in Mexico.
Despite their significant height difference, 5ft 5in Maradona managed to rise higher than 6ft Shilton before punching the ball into the net with his fist.
None of the match officials spotted the handball and the goal, arguably the most controversial in football history, was allowed to stand.
Four minutes later, Maradona scored one of the greatest goals of all time, dribbling past a host of England players, including Shilton, before sticking the ball in the net. It was voted as FIFA’s Goal of the Century in 2002.
On this day 35 years ago, Diego Maradona gave us two of the most iconic goals of all time, "The Hand of God" and the "Goal of the Century" 🙌
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 22, 2021
Fly high, Diego 🔟 🇦🇷
(via @FIFAWorldCup)pic.twitter.com/QGq2s5aOyz
Shilton has remained bitter ever since and is still yet to forgive Maradona, who died at the age of 60 in November 2020.
The retired ‘keeper and his England teammates were unaware that midfielder Steve Hodge had swapped shirts with Maradona at the end of the match.
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Hodge, who played the full 90 minutes against Argentina, insisted he had no plans to sell Maradona’s shirt following the football legend’s untimely death.
But the shirt fetched an astonishing £7.1 million at auction earlier this week – the highest price ever paid for a piece of sports memorabilia.
Peter Shilton: I would have ripped up Maradona’s shirt
“I wouldn’t have swapped with Maradona for all the tea in China for what happened on the day,” Shilton, who has more more appearances for England than any other player in history, told The Sun.
“I wouldn’t even use it around the house, not even to clean the dishes in my bungalow.
“If myself and a few of the other players had known Hodgey had his shirt in the dressing room then it wouldn’t have made it out.
“In the heat of the game, it would have been ripped up into a thousand pieces — and I bet Hodgey is happy now we didn’t do that.
“He knew what he was doing when he didn’t tell us he had it.
“Looking back, I bet he is glad we didn’t find out.
“We were very angry, it’s just as well we didn’t. I’m just glad one Englishman has got something out of the game.”
How does Shilton feel about Steve Hodge selling Maradona’s shirt?
How does Shilton feel about Hodge cashing in on Maradona’s shirt?
Because he feels it represents some sort of payback towards Argentina, who reportedly wanted Hodge to sell the shirt to them, he’s rather happy about it.
The auction of Diego Maradona’s match worn World Cup ‘hand of god’ jersey has sold for over £7m. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/fuwGV7ijjl
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) May 4, 2022
“We’ve had the last laugh. It’s poetic justice for being cheated out of that World Cup,” Shilton added. “It’s the best bit of business any footballer has ever done.
“None of us could have ever dreamed it would be worth that much.”
“I was captain on the day — it still hurts me now. All I was interested in was winning the World Cup, it never occurred to me to change shirts with Maradona, but looking at how much it has sold for, maybe I should have.
“Hodgey’s always got stick over the years; how could he think about changing shirts with him when he cheated.
“I’m pleased for him. He has got payback for us all.
“He’s made a huge amount of money from Maradona cheating against us. It’s a fortune for what was one of the hardest games of my career.”
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