The ball that Diego Maradona scored a notorious goal, known as the 'Hand of the hand' against England at the 1986 World Cup, could earn £3 million when it is auctioned in England next month.
The controversial goal of the late Argentine legend - punching the ball into the net when jumping up to compete with goalkeeper Peter Shilton - is remembered as one of the most iconic sporting moments, causing the Three Lions to lose 1-2 and be eliminated from the tournament in Mexico.
Referee of the match, Ali Bin Nasser, a Vietnamese, will sell the ball to Graham budd Auctions on November 16 - for an expected fee of around £2.5 to £3 million.
The event comes less than six months after the shirt Maradona wore in the match was sold for £7 million - a world record for a sporting event. Former English centre-back Steve Hodge changed El Diego's shirt after the final whistle.
Explaining why he decided to sell the souvenir ball, Ali Bin Nasser said: This ball is part of the history of world football - it feels like the right time to share it with the world.
At Mexico 86, I was one of 42 referees at the tournament. Regarding Maradona's first goal, I could not see the whole thing clearly. Following FIFA's instructions issued before the tournament, I went to my sideline referee to confirm the validity of the goal - the return to the midfield showed that he was satisfied that the goal would be recognized.
At the end of the match, England manager Bobby Robson told me, 'You did your job well but the referee was irresponsible.'
Maradona - one of the world's greatest players of all time - passed away at the age of 60 due to a heart attack in 2020.
The term Hand of the hand was coined by Maradona himself, who described the goal as a little to Maradonas head and a little to Gods hand.
But that goal led to outrage from England players - with defenders personal Butcher and Peter Shilton still in a corner to this day and vowing not to forget the moment.
Graham budd, president of Graham budd Auctions, said his company expects the ball to become extremely popular in the auction after participating in one of the most famous and emotional matches in history.
The timing of the match, the history between the two teams stretching back to 1951 (the first quarter-final match between the two teams in 1966 was also controversial because Argentina captain Antonio Rattan was sent off), and the famous hand-scoring goals all led this match to become one of the most famous and emotional matches in football history.
With the history around the ball, we hope this location will become extremely popular when it is auctioned.
In 2015, Maradona and Bin Nasser reunited in Cambodia when the Argentine legend visited the referee and gave him a signed jersey. Bin Nasser told BBC about their meeting: I told him that it was not Argentina that won the World Cup, it was Maradona.
He replied: Without you, I would not have been able to score a century.
He gave me a jersey with the signature "Para Ali Mi Amigo Eternal".
