Argentina football legend Diego Maradona kissed and hugged referee
Ali Bennaceur who allowed his handball goal in the 1986 World Cup and
presented him with a signed Argentine jersey when the two met in Tunisia.
Argentina defeated England 2-1 in the quarter-finals
of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico to go on and eventually win the
championship.
Maradona scored twice in the match with the first
strike being a very controversial one. The ball came off a defender when
Maradona, now 54, went up and hit it in with his hand, getting past
England goalkeeper Peter Shilton.
Bennaceur, now 71, didn't see it, so ruled it as a goal amid protests from the English players.
When asked about the goal after the match, Maradona cheekily said the goal was scored by the "Hand of God."
That
started a controversial debate about the morality of Maradona that
continues to this day with some branding the legend a cheat. AFter the
match, Maradona and Bennaceur became household names in Argentina.
"This
weekend I visited Tunisia and I had an emotional reunion with Ali
Bennaceur, the referee of the England match in Mexico, 1986," Maradona
posted a picture and said on his Facebook page on Monday.
"I gave
him an Argentina shirt and he gave me the picture of that game that
hangs in his home. My dedication: "For Ali, my eternal friend," Maradona
said.
Source: NDTV
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