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Bob Thomas / Getty Images
Diego Maradona scored Argentina’s first goal against English goalkeeper Peter Shilton using his hand in a 2-1 victory at the 1986 World Cup.
The great English soccer player Gary Lineker has been criticized for his tribute to Diego Maradona which made reference to the infamous “Hand of God” incident.
The Argentine legend died on Thursday at the age of 60.
One of Maradona’s most famous goals came in the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals against England, where he used one hand to score the first goal in a 2-1 victory.
Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona has died at the age of 60, after suffering a cardiac arrest.
It was called the goal of the “Hand of God” by Maradona, who never fully recognized its illegality.
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The goal played a crucial role in Argentina’s triumph at the World Cup that year in a tournament in Mexico.
“Report from Argentina that Diego Armando Maradona has died. By far the best player of my generation and possibly the greatest of all time. After a blessed but troubled life, hopefully you will finally find some comfort in the hands of God. #RIPDiego, ”Lineker, who scored England’s goal in that controversial loss, tweeted.
Some of Linekar’s 7.7 million followers felt the tweet was in bad taste and said this was not the time for puns, low shots, or being disrespectful.
The post was retweeted over 13,000 times and also had over 142,000 likes when fans got caught up in Lineker’s thoughts on one of his former rivals.
Lineker insisted that he was full of respect for Maradona.
He later posted tweets reflecting that, saying that Maradona “had such an incredible passion for the game … I’ve never seen anyone have such beautiful affection for a soccer ball.
Maradona was universally recognized as one of the best footballers in the world of all time.
He was a genius tortured while battling drug and alcohol addictions.
