The football that was at the feet — and hand — of Diego Maradona as he shocked the world with acts of both brazen gamesmanship and breathtaking skill in Mexico 36 years ago has been put up for auction and is expected to sell for at least $2.8 million.

The ball in question is from the 1986 World Cup quarter final between Argentina and England, in which Maradona scored six minutes into the second half by sneakily punching the ball over England goalkeeper Peter Shilton into the net, a goal he said afterwards had been helped by the “Hand of God”.Just four minutes later he dribbled from his own half past a number of England players to score a sublime second that regularly tops polls as the greatest goal in World Cup history. Argentina went on to win the match 2-1 and eventually win the Cup.

Diego Maradona scores the ‘Hand of God’ goal beating England goalkeeper Peter Shilton. Getty Images

The ball is being sold by Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser, who officiated the match.

“This ball is part of international football history — it feels like the right time to be sharing it with the world,” Bin Nasser said. “I hope the buyer is in a position to put it on display or share it with the public in some other way.”

The auction will be conducted by auctioneers Graham Budd and will take place on November 16 as part of a World Cup special event, with bidders able to register and bid online from October 28.

“The timing of the match, the history between the two teams and the handball have all led to this match going down as one of the most famous and emotive matches in football history,” said Graham Budd, chairman of Graham Budd Auctions.

Several items of sporting memorabilia have broken records at auctions recently. The shirt Maradona wore during the 1986 quarter final was sold in May for $9.3m, then a world record. In September, Michael Jordan’s 1998 NBA finals jersey sold for $10.1, a world record for any ‘game worn’ sporting memorabilia.

Maradona, regarded as one of the world’s best-ever footballers, died in November 2020 aged 60.

Written with inputs from Reuters