According to the news (just seen it on telly), the linesman from the 1984 World Cup game between England and Argentina has now admitted he saw Maradona's Hand of God goal.
Quote:
The referee who allowed Diego Maradona's notorious Hand Of God goal has been branded an idiot - by the match linesman. Bulgarian Bogdan Dotchev also said he knew the football legend used his hand to score but did not have the power to alert the ref. Maradona's goal - his first in a 2-1 quarter final victory - helped dump England out of the 1986 Mexico World Cup. Argentina went on to win the tournament.
He later said he scored with "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the
hand of God".
But Mr Dotchev, who has spoken publicly of the controversy for the first time, called Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser "an idiot more fit to herd camels in the desert" than take charge of the game.
He admitted seeing the handball, but claimed: "With the ref having said the goal was valid, I couldn't have waved my flag and told him the goal wasn't good - the rules were different back then.
"A European referee would never recognise the validity of such a goal.
"European refs take charge of at least one or two important games per month and are used to big match pressure."
However, British refereeing boss Keith Hackett said there there was nothing to prevent the linesman flagging for a handball.
"This incident was one of incompetence on the part of the officials," he told The Sun.
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http://uk.news.yahoo.com/16012007/14...-hand-god.html
Not being english, I always quite admired Maradona for having the balls to do that in a World Cup game. Pity he ruined his later career with drugs, man was a footballing genuis (as well as a self-confessed cheat!!)
16-01-2007, 03:46 PM
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Maradona\'s Hand of God was spotted!!!
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