Diego Maradona‘s jersey, which the legend wore when he scored the infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal against England in the 1986 FIFA World Cup, has been put up for sale by Steve Hodge, but Maradona’s daughter claims that the jersey being auctioned is not the original one.
Commenting on the mix-up, Dalma Maradona, the late Argentine maestro’s eldest daughter, told eltrece, “This former player [Hodge] thinks he has my dad’s second-half shirt, but it’s a mix-up. He has the first one. We wanted to clarify that so that people who want to buy it know the truth.”
During that fateful encounter with England on June 22, 1986, the heat forced Maradona to wear two jerseys, one in the first half, one in the second half.
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Now, Dalma claims that the jersey Hodge is auctioning is, in fact, from the first half when the match was goalless.
Dalma refused to divulge further details about the infamous jersey, saying, “My mother doesn’t have it. I’m not going to tell you who has it so as not to expose that person. We can only confirm that it is not this one that they auction.”
However, Sotheby’s, where the shirt is being auctioned, contested Dalma Maradona’s claim, with a spokesperson telling AFP, “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.”
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“And so, prior to putting this shirt for sale, we did extensive diligence 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.
The auction house went on to say, that the verification process involved matching the shirt “to both goals examining unique details on various elements of the item, including the patch, stripes, and numbering.”
Finally, Sotheby’s added that Maradona himself, in the book ‘Touched By God’, had admitted giving the infamous shirt to Sotheby’s after the match.