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AFormer England national goalkeeper Peter Shilton also suffered the death of Diego Maradona, but the pain over his “hand of God” in the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals has yet to heal. “It saddens me to learn of his death at such a young age. He was without a doubt the best player I have ever faced, “Shilton wrote in a Daily Mail column.
At the same time, the 71-year-old lamented that the Argentine soccer icon never apologized for the famous hand goal. “It sounds like he was cool, but unfortunately he’s not a jock,” Shilton said, adding, “No, what I don’t like is that he never apologized. At no point did he say he was cheating and wanted to apologize. Instead, he used his ‘Hand of God’ statement. That was not right. “
Shilton was a direct victim of Maradona’s action on June 22, 1986 at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. In the 51st minute of the World Cup quarterfinals, the Argentine punched Shilton with his left hand after a rebound from defender Steve Hodge. Four minutes later, Maradona decided the match with the “Goal of the Century” after a sensational dribble through the middle of the field, England lost 2-1.
There was never reconciliation with Maradona. “Over the years there have been some attempts to get the two of us together in the same room,” Shilton said. “My approach has always been the same: that if I thought he would apologize, I would love to. I would have shook his hand. But they never gave me a hint that this could happen.”
Maradona died of a heart attack on Wednesday at age 60. He will be buried at the gates of the capital Buenos Aires next Thursday. He finds his final resting place in the Garden of Peace Cemetery, where his parents were also buried. This was confirmed by Maradona’s spokesman, Sebastián Sanchi AFP. Until then, Maradona’s body will be lying in the Argentine presidential palace. Visitation for the general public began at 6:00 am local time on Thursday.
