Maradona grateful to avoid the video refs

DIEgO MARADONA has backed the introduction of video assistant referees (VARs) despite admitting the system would have seen his ‘Hand of god’ goal against England ruled out.

Maradona scored one of the most controversial goals in World Cup history when he challenged England goalkeeper Peter Shilton and used his hand to flick the ball into the net to give Argentina the lead in the 1986 quarter-final.

And after witnessing the introduction of VARs this summer in the Confederations Cup in Russia, the 56-year-old acknowledged he would struggle to get away with the same trick today.

‘That goal wouldn’t have stood if technology had been around,’ he said. ‘I’ll tell you something else, at the 1990 World Cup I used my hand to clear the ball off the line. We were lucky because the referee didn’t see it.’

He also insists England’s football history might look different had VARs been around earlier.

‘ It’s not just my goal that wouldn’t have counted,’ he added. ‘Let’s not forget England won the World Cup in 1966 with a shot that didn’t go over the line.

‘Then it happened in 2010, when Frank Lampard’s shot crossed the line against germany but it wasn’t given.’