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Former England star still angry over ‘Hand of God’ goal

Terry Butcher has still not forgiven Argentina great Diego Maradona for the infamous “Hand of God” goal that knocked England out of the World Cup 22 years ago.

The two men will share a touchline today when Scotland play Argentina in a friendly international at Hampden Park.

Former England center-half Butcher is now Scotland’s assistant manager, while today’s game will be legendary striker Maradona’s first in charge of Argentina.

At the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, Argentina beat England 2-1 in the quarter-finals, with Maradona scoring both goals.

While the second was the result of a brilliant solo run which took him past several England players, Argentina went 1-0 up when Maradona, pretending to go for a header, punched the ball past goalkeeper Peter Shilton.

However, the referee saw nothing untoward and, to England’s fury, let the goal stand.

Maradona further angered England players and fans afterwards by claiming it was the “Hand of God” that scored the opener. Argentina went on to win the World Cup, beating the then West Germany in the final.

Butcher revealed on Monday that immediately after the quarter-final, England players considered physically assaulting their tormentor-in-chief.

“Maradona was in the doping room after the game, giving it all the high fives and the shouts and the screams and all that with his pals,” Butcher told the Times. “And we sat there debating whether to fill him in.”

He added: “It still rankles with me that he has never really admitted to what he did, he’s never really put both hands up — the hands of God — and said, ‘Yes, it was the wrong thing to do.’”

“An English player would have said that, as far as I am concerned. It tarnishes the image to me,” said Butcher, a former Ipswich Town teammate of Scotland manager George Burley.

“I have always said, and will say, that he was the greatest footballer I have ever come across, but I would just like him to have said it straightforwardly, that it was wrong,” Butcher said.

Steve Hodge swapped shirts with Maradona at the end of the game and it now hangs in England’s National Football Museum in Preston, near Liverpool.

The former midfielder reckons it could fetch more than the £157,750 (US$235,375) paid at auction for the shirt worn by Pele, with whom Maradona is bracketed by some as the greatest player in soccer history, in Brazil’s 1970 World Cup final win over Italy.

Not that Butcher is keen on Maradona memorabilia.

“That shirt is the last thing I wanted. I would not even clean my car with it, that is how strongly I feel about it,” he said.
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