Diego Maradona 22 to 17 yards (20 to 16 metres) from the goal, or even just outside the penalty area. Maradona was famous for his cunning personality. Inherent within his nickname "El Pibe de Oro" ("Golden Boy") is a sense of mischief, with "pibe" being an anti-establishment rogue, street smart and full of guile. Some critics view his controversial "Hand of God" goal at the 1986 World Cup as a clever maneuver, with one of the opposition players, Glenn Hoddle, admitting that Maradona had disguised it by flicking his head at the same time as palming the ball. The goal itself has
The hand of God so, since once the match was over it could not be changed. In early 2008, "The Sun" newspaper published an article in which they implied that Maradona, during a visit to England, had apologized for what is described as "the infamous goal of The Hand of God". The newspaper, first of all, cites the phrase in this form:but later repeats the same quotation by adding the word "apologize" which did not appear in the first one, despite being the same sentence:And complete the idea:Before Maradona denied the fact, several world media outlets raised the news, creating controversy in public opinion.