Former England midfielder Steve Hodge has insisted the shirt worn by Diego Maradona in scoring two iconic goals against the Three Lions in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final is not for sale.

Hodge swapped shirts with Maradona, who died last week at the age of 60, at the end of the match in which the Argentine legend punched home what became known as the “Hand of God” goal and then ran from inside his own half to score a stunning second as Argentina won 2-1.

The shirt is now on display at the National Football Museum in Manchester.

Hodge said he had been inundated with enquiries over the shirt in recent days and dispelled rumours he was looking for a seven-figure sum to sell it.

“I have had it for 34 years and have never once tried to sell it,” Hodge, 58, told the BBC. “I like having it. It has incredible sentimental value.

“I’ve had people knocking on my door non-stop and the phone’s constantly ringing from every TV and radio station, and even foreign stations.

“It has been uncomfortable and it hasn’t been nice. I have seen articles on the internet and there has been a bit of flak flying around saying I wanted a million or two million and am hawking it around for money.

“I find it disrespectful and totally wrong. It’s not for sale. I am not trying to sell it.”

Hodge paid tribute to the “genius” of one of the greatest players the game has ever seen and said he never blamed Maradona for taking the chance of scoring with his hand.

“I have to say I have never once blamed him for the handball. Not once,” he added. “It was out of order but people who play football know that you try things now and again.

“From every corner of the globe he was respected and people appreciated the genius he had. That game will never be forgotten in the history of football.”

Source: AFP

World champion Lewis Hamilton has tested positive for coronavirus and will miss this weekend’s Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain, Formula One’s governing body FIA announced Tuesday.

“In accordance with COVID-19 protocols and public health authority guidelines in Bahrain he (Hamilton) is now isolating,” said an FIA statement.

“The procedures set out by the FIA and Formula 1 will ensure no wider impact on this weekend’s event.”

Hamilton who on Sunday won the Bahrain Grand Prix, the first of back-to-back races in the Gulf state, has already secured a record-equalling seventh world championship this season.

“He woke up on Monday morning with mild symptoms and was informed at the same time that a contact prior to arrival in Bahrain had subsequently tested positive,” a statement from Hamilton’s Mercedes team said.

“Lewis therefore took a further test and returned a positive result. This has since been confirmed by a retest.

“Lewis is now isolating in accordance with COVID-19 protocols and public health authority guidelines in Bahrain.

“Apart from mild symptoms, he is otherwise fit and well, and the entire team sends him its very best wishes for a swift recovery.”

The team added that Hamilton had been tested three times last week and returned a negative result each time as part of the sport’s strict anti-virus protocols, the last of which was on Sunday afternoon at the Bahrain circuit.

Source: AFP

Mike Tyson’s return to boxing at age 54 ended in a draw with 51-year-old Roy Jones Jr. on Saturday in an eight-round exhibition battle of former heavyweight champions.

Fifteen years after retiring with a 2005 loss to journeyman Kevin McBride, Tyson made his comeback at Staples Center in Los Angeles without spectators in a pay-per-view matchup that mixed curiosity and nostalgia.

California State Athletic Commission officials required two-minute rounds instead of the usual three-minute rounds, mandated larger than normal 12-ounce gloves, said neither fighter could seek a knockout and declared there could be no official winner in safety moves for the over-50 fighters.

“Sometimes that two minutes felt like three minutes,” Tyson said. “I’m glad I got this under my belt and I’m looking forward to doing it again.”

An “unofficial” panel of former World Boxing Council champions at ringside scored the bout a draw, an outcome that Tyson applauded despite appearing to dominate.

“I’m good with that,” Tyson said, admitting he thought he had won the fight. “Yeah, but I’m good with a draw. The crowd was happy with that.”

Jones, who looked tired and grabbed Tyson much of the fight, was unhappy at a draw.

“I ain’t never happy with a draw. I don’t do draw,” Jones said, admitting that Tyson hurt him throughout the bout, particularly with body blows.

“If he hits you with his head, punches, body shots, it don’t matter, everything hurts. Body shots definitely took a toll. Body shots are what makes you exhausted.”

Tyson, who entered 50-6 with 44 knockouts, lost 100 pounds and began training again, his desire to get back in shape becoming a hunger to strap on the gloves once more.

Jones, who entered 66-9 with 47 knockouts, had not fought since a February 2018 cruiserweight victory. He hoped a solid effort against Tyson might set up a fight with 45-year-old Brazilian mixed martial arts star Anderson Silva.

‘It’s going to hurt’

Tyson came out aggressive and fast, swinging and connecting often to the body of Jones, who was able to hit and evade at times, then hugging Tyson often when all else failed.

“You came back. I hit you with good shots and you took it,” Tyson told Jones. “We have to do this again.”

A hard left to the head stung Jones in round two and he spent much of the third and fourth rounds holding and moving into clenches with Tyson.

“It’s something in there taking punches from Mike,” Jones said. “Once I go in there, I’m game. I’ll go to the end. I know when he hits me it’s going to hurt.”

Tyson landed an inside right and a hard left to the head of Jones in the fifth round, then connected to the body with a solid right and left in the sixth, Jones evading a right uppercut and tying up Tyson before he could land major combinations.

Tyson stung the midsection of Jones in round seven but was held before he could press the advantage.

In the eighth and final round, Tyson pounded a pair of left hooks to the body but Jones tied him up and they finished trading inside punches.

“I was very happy to go the eight rounds,” Tyson said. “I’m more happy with going the distance.

 “I was afraid I might get hurt. Why is nobody worried about my ass? I haven’t done this in 15 years.

Tyson ruled the heavyweight division in overwhelming fashion in the late 1980s but struggled through the 1990s, losing his title, being convicted of rape and serving a ban after biting a chunk out of Evander Holyfield’s ear.

He faded from the scene after a 2002 world title loss to Lennox Lewis and has returned now to help launch his Legends Only League for over-age star athletes.

“This is bigger than fighting for championships,” Tyson declared. “I’m helping people now.”

Source: AFP

Argentina’s Diego Maradona, one of the world’s greatest football players, was buried on Thursday amid a global outpouring of grief from the streets of his hometown Buenos Aires to Naples, Italy.

The death of Maradona at the age of 60 on Wednesday, following a heart attack, has sparked both mourning and celebrations of a true sporting star, who was a genius on the football field but lived a life marred by struggles with addiction.

In a day of high emotion, the World Cup winner was taken by hearse late on Thursday to the Bella Vista cemetery on the outskirts of Buenos Aires – where his parents are also interred – for a small private ceremony of his family and close friends.

Thousands of Argentines lined the roads as the procession passed on the hour-long journey from the presidential palace in central Buenos Aires, where Maradona had lain in state during the day.

Earlier, there were clashes between police and fans and a febrile atmosphere more akin to a rowdy football game than a wake, with fans clambering up the palace gates to get as close as possible to their hero.

In Italy, crowds tied hundreds of blue and white scarfs to the railings outside his former club Napoli, while in France, sports paper L’Equipe’s front page blared out: “God is dead”.

In Argentina, three days of national mourning were called for the player who led the country to a 1986 World Cup win and is revered with cult-like status. Tens of thousands took to the streets, not all wearing masks, despite fears over the COVID-19 pandemic. Some left flowers and messages at his childhood home.

“Maradona for me is the greatest thing that happened to me in life. I love him as much as my father and it’s like my old man died,” Cristian Montelli, 22, a supporter of the star’s former club Boca Juniors said with tears in his eyes after he had filed past the coffin.

“If I die young, hopefully upstairs I can play ball and watch a Boca game with him,” added Montelli, who had a tattoo of Maradona’s face on his leg.

Mile-long lines

During the day, Maradona’s body lay in state in a closed casket at the Casa Rosada presidential palace on the central Plaza de Mayo. It was covered with the blue and white national flag and an Argentina football jersey with the number 10 that had been part of his nickname “D10S” – a play on “dios”, the Spanish word for God.

Starting at dawn on Thursday, thousands of fans had formed a snaking line estimated at over a mile (1.6 km) long through the streets of Buenos Aires near the plaza, after a night of mourning and reminiscing.

Fans who got inside the palace – many missed out – threw football shirts, flowers and other items towards the casket.

“He was someone who touched the sky with his hands but never took his feet off the ground,” President Alberto Fernandez said. He visited the casket on Thursday.

As authorities started to close down access to the central square on Thursday afternoon, scuffles broke out, with police using rubber bullets and water cannon to disperse the unruly crowds.

The tensions eased after Maradona’s body was transferred to the cemetery, surrounded by a huge procession of police and others on motorbikes and cars.

In Naples, meanwhile, fans laid out flowers, children’s pictures, candles and even a bottle of wine in a rapidly expanding, makeshift shrine.

“Diego belongs to the people”

Major athletes and world leaders, including Argentina-born Pope Francis, have paid their own tributes.

“Diego belongs to the people, Diego belongs to Argentina, Diego belongs to the country,” said Dario Lozano, waiting in line to view the casket.

Beloved in his homeland after leading Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986 and adored in Italy for taking Napoli to two Serie A titles, Maradona was a uniquely gifted player who rose from the tough streets of Buenos Aires to reach the pinnacle of his sport.

The 1986 World Cup included a quarter-final game against England where Maradona scored two of the tournament’s best-known goals ever – an illicit “Hand of God” goal and one that followed an incredible swerving, dribble.

Maradona also battled various health problems over the years as a result of his addictions. Earlier this month, he was hospitalised for symptoms including anemia and dehydration and underwent emergency surgery for a subdural hematoma – a blood clot in the brain.

On Thursday, Maradona’s lawyer, Matías Morla, said he would ask for a full investigation into the circumstances of the death, and criticised what he said was a slow response by emergency services.

In Italy, Massimo Vignati, owner of a Maradona museum in Naples, said the player had become almost like family.

“My mother was the Neapolitan mother of Maradona. He was our twelfth brother,” he told Reuters, surrounded my memorabilia of the player. “We must remember him with his smile as always. He made his last dribble and left us suddenly.”

(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)