Maradona backs use of technology to stop cheating

Diego Maradona has backed the introduction of video assistant referees (VARs) despite admitting the system would have seen his “Hand of God” goal against England ruled out.

Maradona scored one of the most famous and controversial goals in World Cup history in 1986 when he leapt to challenge England goalkeeper Peter Shilton and used his hand to flick the ball into the net to give Argentina the lead.

He then scored a superb second goal as Argentina went on to win the quarter-final clash 2-1 before going on to become world champions.

However, after witnessing the introduction of VARs in this summer’s Confederations Cup in Russia, the 56-year-old has acknowledged he would struggle to get away with the same trick today.

“I’ve thought about it and, sure, that goal wouldn’t have stood if technology had been around,” Maradona told FIFA.com.

“And I’ll tell you something else, at the 1990 World Cup I used my hand to clear the ball off the line against the Soviet Union. We were lucky because the referee didn’t see it.

“You couldn’t use technology back then, but it’s a different story now.”

Maradona also insists England’s football history might also look very different had VARs been around earlier.

“It’s not just my goal in ’86 that wouldn’t have counted,” he added. “Let’s not forget that England won the World Cup in ’66 with a shot that didn’t go over the line.

“Then it happened to them in 2010, when [Frank] Lampard’s shot crossed the line against Germany but wasn’t given.

“There have been lots of incidents where World Cup history would have been different if technology had been used. It’s time to change all that.”