SHILTS: DIEGO IS A CHEAT & I NEVER WANT TO MEET HIM

PETER SHILTON has insisted he would never shake hands with Diego Maradona – and revealed he has turned down big-money offers to do so.

The England legend says there have been opportunities to stage a meeting with the ‘Hand of God’ cheat after the infamous World Cup quarterfinal in 1986.

Shilton’s wife and business partner Steph confirmed she was presented with a “huge potential offer” to star in a TV advert, but insisted her husband turned it down flat because of Maradona’s refusal to apologise.

Disgraced former Argentina star Maradona is due to visit England next month and Irish bookmaker Paddy Power was keen to bring them together.

But Shilton says he can never forget or forgive the most notorious piece of cheating in World Cup history.

England were knocked out after Maradona’s handball (above) and, 32 years later, the bad feeling between the pair still runs as deep as ever.

Shilton, 68, said: “There’s been plenty of opportunities for him to apologise, but he never has. So, if he’s not done it by now, then I suspect he never will.

“It goes against my firm belief that football should unite the world. I feel Maradona has used this for his own agenda.

“I’ve never wanted to meet him, not once since the ‘Hand of God’, because I always felt he should have apologised for cheating. I would never shake his hand.

“I’ve never liked the fella, some of the things he has done… I’ve got a love for football and you have to conduct yourself well through sport.

“But he has gone the other way, by blaming the Falklands War and saying he hates the English, and that’s the side I don’t like.

“The fact he has never apologised sums him up. Everybody knows what happened. Look, players do cheat, even goalkeepers, but when it’s happened they’ve been good enough sportsmen to apologise. “But Maradona has never shown that decency and that’s why, no matter what he did on the pitch, everything else is tarnished.” Shilton has never come face-to-face with Maradona in the past 32 years, the closest they came was for a charity match soon after the 1986 World Cup, but they kept their distance from each other throughout. Maradona, 57, invited Shilton to appear on his TV show, which he refused. But, in February, England’s record appearance holder asked fans on Twitter and in a newspaper interview what they thought about a potential reunion. Shilton’s decision on the latest proposal to get the pair together has convinced him to NEVER meet with Maradona. His wife Steph said: “The latest offer was huge and I was quite excited by it. But as soon as I took it to Peter, he said no because of Maradona’s refusal to say sorry.”

Shilton (below) added: “There have been tentative enquiries down the years, he also invited me on to his TV show, but it’s never happened.

“This year, however, there was a record amount of interest in the reunion.

“Every time the World Cup comes round, it comes up again. He is trying to work his own PR again and use his cheating for his own ends.

“I still am involved heavily in football, and still hold many England and world records. I’m really too busy to waste time on Maradona. So I’m making it clear it’s never going to happen!

“He was definitely the best player I ever played against on the pitch, but I’ve got no respect for him off it.”

A Paddy Power spokesman confirmed the offer and said: “One of our agencies proposed some brilliant ad creative featuring Maradona offering an apology to Shilton.

“But we couldn’t reach an agreement with the talent – specifically the South American one.”