Maradona raises hand for replay
Scorer of the Hand of God goal is all for soccer finally embracing video review
Diego Maradona has never been shy about the fact the first of his two goals in a 1986 World Cup quarterfinal against England was memorable because he got away with cheating. The infamous Hand of God goal got its name from Maradona himself when he told reporters that it came from “un poco con la cabeza de Maradona y otro poco con la mano de Dios” (a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God).
Maradona’s goal almost certainly would have been disallowed had soccer had a video-replay system in place back then, an innovation that somehow is only catching on now, 31 years later, with FIFA’s baby-steps implementation of its video assistant referee system. The Argentine great is a fan of replay, even if it would have wiped out his goal against England.
“Obviously I think about it whenever I show my support for the use of technology,” he told FIFA.com with a laugh in a story published Tuesday. “I thought about it and, sure, that goal wouldn’t have stood if technology had been around.”
The video assistant referee was used on a trial basis at this year’s Confederations Cup and Under-20 World Cup and will be utilized by various professional leagues, including Major League Soccer, before its grand unveiling at next year’s World Cup in Russia. It will be used to determine the correct call in gamechanging situations: referee decisions on goals, penalty kicks, red cards and the like.
Maradona made note of other plays that replay would have corrected.
“At the 1990 World, Cup I used my hand to clear the ball off the line against the Soviet Union,” he told FIFA. “We were lucky because the referee didn’t see it. You couldn’t use technology back then, but it’s a different story today.”
Two others involved England and Germany. In the 1966 World Cup final, England’s Geoff Hurst was awarded a goal in extra time against West Germany even though the ball did not appear to go over the line. It ultimately gave England the title.
And then there was Frank Lampard’s goal-that-wasn’t-a-goal against Germany in the 2010 World Cup quarter-final, which would have tied the score. Instead, Germany “grew in confidence,” Maradona said, and took a 4-1 win.
“There have been lots of incidents where World Cup history would have been different if technology had been used. It’s time to change all that,” Maradona said.