Argentina soccer legend Diego Maradona apologized in an interview yesterday for his infamous "Hand of God" goal in the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals that cost England a shot at the trophy.
Speaking to the Sun tabloid, Maradona, who scored both goals in the 2-1 victory over England more than 20 years ago, said that if he could go back in time and "change history," he would.
Maradona's first goal in the quarter-final match in Mexico was deemed by the match referee to be a legitimate header past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton, but replays confirmed he had illegally punched the ball in with his hand.
The controversy surrounding that incident has in England long overshadowed Maradona's superb second goal, which saw him dribble past five England players.
He told the Sun, speaking through a translator: "If I could apologize and go back and change history, I would. But the goal is still a goal. Argentina became world champions and I was the best player in the world. I cannot change history. All I can do now is move on."
England's anger at Maradona's handball was further inflamed when, immediately after the match, he said his opening goal was the work of the "hand of God" and the mood of English fans wasn't helped by the fact that Argentina went on to win the World Cup that year, defeating the then West Germany 3-2 in the final.
Maradona, who suffered from a well-chronicled drug problem, also took a swipe at fellow soccer legend Pele, saying that if he had never taken cocaine, "there would be no debate about who was the best footballer the world had ever seen ... Everyone would say me."
"If I had never touched cocaine, I would have been three times as good a player," he added.
The next generation of running talent takes center stage at today’s Berlin Marathon, in the absence of stars including Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopian world record holder Tigist Assefa. With most of the major marathon stars skipping the event in the wake of the Paris Olympics just more than a month ago, the field is wide open in the men’s and women’s races. Since 2015, Kipchoge has won five times in Berlin, Kenenisa Bekele has won twice and Guye Adola once — with all three missing today. Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie and Ethiopian Tadese Takele are among the favourites for the men, while
Taiwan’s Tony Wu yesterday beat Mackenzie McDonald of the US to win the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand, his first challenger victory since 2022. The 26-year-old world No. 315, who won both his qualifiers to advance to the main draw, has been on a hot streak this month, winning his past nine matches, including two that ensured Taiwan’s victory in their Davis Cup World Group I tie. Wu took just more than two hours to top world No. 172 McDonald 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his second challenger tournament since the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in 2022. Wu’s Tallahassee win followed two years of
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Taiwanese martial artists bagged one gold, four silver and three bronze medals at the World Junior Wushu Championships in Brunei, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Brunei Darussalam said yesterday. Liu Yu-tzu won the gold medal in the girl’s taijiquan A group and also picked up a silver medal in the girl’s taijijian A group. Hu Hsin-ling, Yu Min-hsun and Chen Chao-hsiang each won a silver medal in the girl’s jianshu B, boy’s nangun B and boy’s taijijian A groups respectively. Hu also won a bronze medal in the girl’s qiangshu B group, while Yu and Lin Shih-hung picked up bronze medals
RSS