Referee to cash in on Maradona ‘Hand of God’ World Cup ball

The 36-year-old Adidas ball owned by ex-referee Ali Bin Nasser, who officiated the match in which Diego Maradona scored his ‘Hand of God’ goal against England, is expected to fetch between $2.7 million and $3.3 million when it goes up for sale

A former World Cup referee is about to cash in on his biggest mistake — to the tune of about $3 million.

The ball used when Diego Maradona scored his notorious "Hand of God" goal against England at the 1986 World Cup has been put up for auction by the Tunisian referee who was in charge of the game and missed football's most famous handball.

Graham Budd Auctions said Thursday they expect the 36-year-old Adidas ball owned by ex-referee Ali Bin Nasser to fetch between $2.7 million and $3.3 million when it goes up for sale in Britain on November 16, four days before the World Cup in Qatar kicks off.

The ball auction comes amid a boom for sports memorabilia.

The shirt worn by Argentina great Maradona in that game against England at the World Cup in Mexico was sold in May for $9.3 million, at the time the highest price paid at auction for a piece of sports memorabilia. That was beaten by a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle baseball card, which went for $12.6 million in New York in August.

A Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls jersey from Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals — the season featured on the ESPN and Netflix documentary The Last Dance — fetched $10.1 million last month, double what auctioneers expected, to eclipse Maradona's shirt for the record for game-worn memorabilia.

"2022 has been an amazing year in the sports memorabilia market with records broken on three occasions," auction house chairman Graham Budd said. "It's an exciting time in the market and we're wondering whether this famous football will break records as well." The Maradona goal that gave Argentina a 1-0 lead in the quarterfinal against England — but should never have been allowed — has become part of football legend.