The ref who missed Maradona’s ‘Hand Of God’ goal has insisted he did a ‘good job’ – and crowed that FIFA ranked him 9.4 out of 10 for his performance.
Ali Bin Nasser awarded a goal after the Argentinian football legend punched the ball into the net during the 1986 World Cup quarter-final to help beat England. He has now acknowledged it was a mistake but blamed linesman Bogdan Dochev.
As he “didn’t get a clear view” he said he had to rely on his assistant Bogdan Dochev whose sightline was “perfect”. When Dochev “didn’t say anything” the 78-year-old Tunisian said he had no choice but to award the goal which broke English hearts.
ALSO READ: Referee who missed Diego Maradona’s Hand of God goal says ‘it was not my fault’
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The 78-year-old Tunisian Nasser told FourFourTwo magazine: “Diego scored but, immediately after the goal went in, I had my doubts. Something just didn’t feel right about it.”
“I had my doubts but my colleague was much better placed than me. Our instructions were clear – if an assistant was in a better position, you had to trust his judgement.
“I didn’t get a clear view so I awarded the goal and started heading back towards the centre circle. But all the while I kept one eye on my assistant.
“I waited for him to give me a reason to disallow the goal. But he didn’t say anything.”
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Nasser said England defender Terry Fenwick was “especially upset about it”.
The ref said: “He came to me shouting ‘handball’ and threw both arms up in the air, but by then I couldn’t go back on my decision. I simply told him to focus on the game.
“I actually didn’t have to argue with the players much and I must emphasise how fair the English were that day.
“At the end of the game coach Bobby Robson said I’d done a good job but blamed my assistant.
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“I couldn’t change anything about what happened and told myself that mistakes are just part of football.
“I knew I’d done a good job during the game because the FIFA supervisor, an Irishman, awarded my performance a 9.4/10.
“Maradona’s handball had to be reported by my assistant. I waited for him but he didn’t say anything.”
Before his death aged 80 in 2017, Bulgarian Dochev admitted he saw the handball but did not flag it because Nasser had told him not to make any big decisions during the game.
The linesman struggled to cope with his notoriety and scrawled ‘Maradona is my gravedigger’ on a picture of the star, who died aged 60, two years ago.
Former England captain Terry Butcher, 63, said he had never forgiven Maradona, who afterwards admitted he had been helped “a little with the hand of God”.
He said: “Look, he was the best footballer I ever played against and I’m sorry he died so young. But it’s true I’ve never forgiven him for that goal and that hasn’t changed since he passed on.
“Because of that goal I’ve got mixed feelings about Diego. In one sense I feel honoured to have been on the same pitch as him. But you can’t get away from the fact that he cheated.”
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