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The Tunisian referee for England’s infamous 1986 World Cup loss to Argentina says he is “proud and honored” to have helped Diego Maradona score the “goal of the century.”
Maradona, who died on Wednesday at the age of 60, beat several England players in a labyrinthine dribble from inside his own half before scoring to put Argentina 2-0 up, four minutes after scoring the controversial goal. who credited the hand. of God”.
Referee Ali Bin Nasser, now 76, also said he was left with no choice but to concede the first goal and recalled how Maradona gifted him a signed jersey when they met again in 2015.
On the second goal of the match, Bin Nasser told BBC Sport: “He took off from midfield and I followed closely.
When you’re refereeing someone like Maradona, you can’t take your eyes off them.
“They tried to take him down three times, but his desire for victory kept pushing him forward.
“Every time he yelled ‘advantage’ until he got to the area.
“I was watching from outside the box, wondering how this player shook off three defenders and ran almost 50 meters.
I thought ‘the defenders will try to take him down now’.
He expected that to happen and was ready to call a penalty.
“To my surprise, he dribbled to another defender and the goalkeeper [Peter Shilton] to score what would become “the goal of the century.”
“I am proud and honored as a person and as a referee to have played a role in that historic achievement.
“Had he whistled [for] a fault in any of the first three contacts, we would not have witnessed something so magnificent.
That advantage I gave you is one of my proudest achievements.
Bin Nasser added that the 1986 quarter-finals, played in front of nearly 115,000 fans at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, was the “climax” of his career, despite his decision for the controversial first goal.
“I remember it vividly,” he continued.
“The English defender [Steve Hodge] I had the ball, I was returning it and Maradona was in the air with Peter Shilton, and they both had their backs to me.
“They were facing my assistant referee, the Bulgarian Bogdan Dochev.
“At first I was hesitant, I looked at Dochev, who was heading back to midfield, confirming the goal.
He did not signal for handball.
“The instructions that FIFA gave us before the game were clear: if a colleague was in a better position than mine, I should respect his point of view.
Dochev, who died in 2017 at the age of 80, would later say that “FIFA did not allow attendees to discuss decisions with the referee.”
“If FIFA had put a referee from Europe in charge of such an important match, Maradona’s first goal would have been annulled,” he insisted.
However, Bin Nasser says that the sportsmanship displayed by the England players was “beautiful”.
He recalled: “Gary Lineker came up to me and said ‘please referee, handball!’ I replied: Please play! “For me, that was 100% a goal according to FIFA guidelines.
“Secret hopes Lineker scored a goal for England with nine minutes remaining and then came close to drawing.
“When England scored their goal, they secretly wanted them to score the equalizer,” admitted Bin Nasser.
“I wanted to enjoy that game for 30 more minutes.
It was an absolute joy from start to finish.
“Despite the heat of that day, I wanted things to keep going.
It was a beautiful match between two great teams.
“When Maradona arrived in Tunisia in 2015, he visited Bin Nasser at his home.
“I told him ‘it wasn’t Argentina that won the World Cup that year, it was Maradona,'” said the Tunisian.
He replied: ‘If it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t have been able to score the goal of the century.
‘”He gave me a signed jersey that said’ For Ali My Eternal Friend.
‘”.
