The football with which [PERSON_NAME] scored his famous 'hand of God' goal at the 1986 World Cup has sold at auction for £2.5m. [PERSON_NAME] famously punched the ball past goalkeeper [PERSON_NAME] in [ADDRESS]'s 2-1 quarter-final win over [ADDRESS]. After the game, he told reporters it had been scored "a little with the head of [PERSON_NAME] and a little with the hand of [PERSON_NAME]." [PERSON_NAME] later scored what became known as the 'goal of the century' in the same game, dribbling past five [ADDRESS] outfield players before slotting the ball past Shilton. Though it sold for $3.3m (£2.5m) at Heritage Auctions in [ADDRESS] on Saturday, the ball had been expected to fetch nearer $10m (£7.3m).

Speaking to Reuters before the auction, [PERSON_NAME], a specialist auctioneer at Heritage, said: "It's a true one-of-one item. Arguably the most significant soccer item that exists." Tunisian [PERSON_NAME], who refereed the match in 1986, collected the Adidas Azteca ball at full-time and kept it for more than three decades. In 2023, he signed a letter to confirm it was the only ball used during the match, which has also been confirmed by further independent authentication. [PERSON_NAME] sold the ball in 2022 for $2.37m (£1.74m).

Its new owner again put it up for auction in 2023 though it did not sell as bids did not meet the minimum value set. The shirt worn by [PERSON_NAME] during the same match sold for £7.1m at auction in 2022.