The shirt worn by England goalkeeper Peter Shilton during the infamous 'Hand of God' World Cup quarter-final against Argentina in 1986 is set to be auctioned, with an estimated sale price of up to £300,000.
This game, one of the most famous in World Cup history, saw Diego Maradona use his left hand to score a controversial goal, putting Argentina ahead. Just four minutes later, Maradona scored again, this time with a spectacular solo effort considered one of the greatest goals ever, dribbling from his own half past several England players.
Maradona's No. 10 jersey from the match fetched a record £7.1 million at auction in May 2022. When asked about the legitimacy of his first goal, Maradona famously described it as being scored "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God."
Shilton's shirt is being sold by a private UK collector as part of an auction expected to take place next July, ahead of the 2026 World Cup final.
Moment in History
David Convery of Graham Budd Auctions confirmed that the jersey has been authenticated through photo-matching, ruling out shirts from earlier matches in the tournament. "As you can imagine, coming off his back in 100-degree heat in 1986, it has a wee bit of a whiff to it," Convery noted. "There are a couple of pulls and snags due to the material, but it's in pretty fantastic condition."
He added, "It's from a moment in history, and the second goal was unbelievable. As a specialist auctioneer, it's up there with having held nine of the 11 World Cup winners' medals from 1966 and medals from every final since."
Second Goal Like a Dream
Peter Shilton, who earned a record 125 caps for England, declined to comment when approached by the BBC. However, former midfielder Peter Reid, who Maradona bypassed on his way to scoring his second goal, described the shirt as a reminder of a special match.
Speaking at the National Football Museum in Manchester, Reid recalled the intense anticipation, with the world's media gathered outside the team hotel for the first meeting between the sides since the Falklands War. "When you put it all together—the handball, the second goal, who Maradona was—it's an iconic game. It's fair to call it that," he said.
Reid continued, "He went past me, played a one-two. I felt comfortable thinking Shilts was going to get it. As he went up, I saw the handball. Maradona did it well. It was cute, you would say that."
Reid described watching Maradona's second goal unfold as like "being in a dream." "He was just too quick. If you look again, Hoddle gets fouled, it wasn't given, and then Maradona's gone. His touch and pace were staggering even with the pitch being awful and covered with potholes. He was just too quick."
"From the stand at the far end of the stadium where I was sat as a substitute, I just clapped," Viv Anderson interjects. "Well, I was on the pitch, so couldn't have got away with that," Reid responds with a laugh.
Other items to be auctioned include Pele's World Cup winner's medal from 1958, valued at up to £500,000, Gordon Banks' 1966 winner's medal estimated at £300,000, and Alan Ball's shirt from the game expected to fetch around £200,000. Additionally, Martin Peters' spare shirt from the final is anticipated to sell for approximately £50,000.