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Media68 outlets ran this3 min read

Maradona's 1986 World Cup ball sells for $3.3 million

The football used for the 'Hand of God' goal fetched less than half of its estimated value at auction.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
Maradona's 'Hand of God' ball sells for £2.5m

What this story says

  • The football Diego Maradona used for his 'Hand of God' goal in the 1986 World Cup has sold for $3.3 million.
  • The ball was expected to fetch closer to $10 million.
  • The referee of the 1986 match, Ali Bin Nasser, had kept the ball for over three decades.
  • Maradona's shirt from the same match sold for £7.1 million in 2022.

Who covered it

Left 50%(15)Centre 20%(9)Right 30%(11)

Percentages are shares of the 35 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 33 of the 68 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

42/100

Craft

57/100

Hype

41/100

68 sources · methodology

The football used by Diego Maradona for his 'Hand of God' goal during the 1986 World Cup quarter-final match between Argentina and England has sold at auction for $3.3 million (£2.5 million). The Adidas Azteca ball was officiated by Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser, who had kept it for more than 30 years before selling it. The final sale price was significantly lower than the $10 million (£7.3 million) that had been anticipated.

Disagreement on sale price

While most reports state the ball sold for $3.3 million or £2.5 million, some sources provided slightly different figures. The Irish Times reported the sale at €2.87 million, while Digi 24 and Stirile Antena 1 Observator stated it sold for nearly €2.8 million. Haberler and Noticiaslatam.lat reported $3.4 million, and Ilta-Sanomat reported $3.3 million as a 'flop' price.

What the coverage left out

None of the left, centre, or right-rated reports mention the specific name of the auctioneer, Heritage Auctions, or the location of the auction in the United States. The full report from Ada Derana mentions Heritage Auctions in the US. None of the left, centre, or right-rated reports mention that the ball had previously been sold in 2022 for $2.37m (£1.74m) and failed to sell at auction again in 2023, details present in the full report from Ada Derana.

Tags:#Maradona#HandOfGod#WorldCup1986#FootballMemorabilia#Auction

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 5 times, most recently on 24 Aug 2026, 18:00, and will add the sides that appear.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

15 rated outlets

  • Reports from the left-rated outlets focused on the sale price and the fact that it fell short of expectations. Ada Derana, in its full report, stated the ball sold for £2.5m ($3.3m) but had been expected to fetch nearer $10m (£7.3m). It also noted that the referee, Ali Bin Nasser, had kept the ball for over three decades and that it was the only ball used in the match. teleSUR highlighted the 'mythical performance' and the '$3.35 million' sale. GZERO Media described the ball as 'an important piece of soccer history'. Indian Express mentioned the ball had been in the possession of the Tunisian referee until 2022. Helsingin Sanomat noted the auction organiser expected the price to rise to at least €8.7 million.

Centre

9 rated outlets

  • Centre-rated reports highlighted the sale price and the disappointment that it did not meet the estimated value. Sky News UK noted the £2.5m sale. RTÉ reported the $3.35m sale. ANSA described the auction as a 'flop' for the ball sold for 'only' $3.3 million, stating it passed hands for a third of the estimate. Football (soccer) greatest goals and highlights stated the ball sold for £2.5m. Ilta-Sanomat reported the price did not meet expectations. Digi 24 focused on who bought the ball and why it was valuable, stating it sold for nearly €2.8 million.

Right

11 rated outlets

  • Right-rated outlets focused on the sale price, often noting it was a significant sum but fell short of projections. Expressen reported the ball was sold for '32 Million' without specifying currency. Il Tempo reported 'disappointment' at the 'modest' figure of 2.9 million euros. Irish Independent stated the ball sold for a 'whopping £2.5m' but fell far short of the £7.3m estimate. Daily Sabah reported the $3.35m sale. Globo reported the sale for £2.5 million, equivalent to R$17.5 million. Anadolu Ajansı reported the $3.35m sale, noting it fell well short of the $10M estimate. Protothema stated the ball sold for $3.3 million but the price was significantly lower than initial estimates.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Maradona's 1986 World Cup ball sells for $3.3 million?
Of the 35 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 50% are rated left, 20% are rated centre, 30% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 68. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Maradona's 1986 World Cup ball sells for $3.3 million left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 35 rated outlets on this story, 50% are rated left, 20% are rated centre, 30% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of Maradona's 1986 World Cup ball sells for $3.3 million biased?
Maradona's 1986 World Cup ball sells for $3.3 million is one event reported by 68 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which outlets covered Maradona's 1986 World Cup ball sells for $3.3 million?
68 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
How much did Maradona's 'Hand of God' ball sell for?
The football used by Diego Maradona for his 'Hand of God' goal in the 1986 World Cup sold for $3.3 million (£2.5 million). This price was significantly lower than the expected $10 million.
Who refereed the match where the 'Hand of God' goal was scored?
The match was refereed by Ali Bin Nasser of Tunisia. He kept the ball for over three decades before it was eventually put up for auction.
How does the ball's sale price compare to Maradona's shirt?
The 'Hand of God' ball sold for $3.3 million. In contrast, the shirt Maradona wore during the same 1986 match was sold at auction in 2022 for £7.1 million.

Read it at the source

68 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

15
Show 7 more

Centre

9
Show 1 more

Right

11
Show 3 more

Not rated

33
Show 25 more

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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