Maradona won’t bless Hand of God-II
Brazil striker Luis Fabiano struck the most controversial goal of the 2010 World Cup, using his bicep twice to control the ball before slotting it past Ivory Coast goalkeeper Boubacar Barry at Soccer City on Sunday.
However, for the original rule-breaker Diego Maradona — author of the infamous “Hand of God” goal when he punched a cross over advancing English goalkeeper Peter Shilton in their 1986 World Cup quarterfinal en route to leading Argentina to the title — the Brazilian’s strike can’t be mentioned in the same breath as the goal that infuriated millions of Englishmen and infatuated millions of Argentinians.
“No, this one was with his arm, he brought it down with his arm. It was very evident, in fact, I think there was a double handball,” said the bemused Argentina coach, on being asked if Fabiano’s second-half strike was worthy of the sobriquet “Hand of God-II”.
In the 50th minute of the match Fabiano, who struck the opener on 25 minutes with a sublime finish into the roof of the net from a very tight angle, used his bicep to control a high ball. He lifted the ball over a couple of defenders, and the second time used his bicep again to control the ball and strike it home.
French referee Stephane Lannoy was aloof to it all and was in fact seen sharing a laugh with Fabiano at the centre circle after the goal. “What’s tragicomic is the referee’s smile afterwards,” Maradona said.
“When I scored the goal against England, I didn’t see the referee laugh. He had so many doubts, he looked at his linesmen, there was no fourth referee at that time. He even looked at the crowd to see if they gave him a hand.”
“But last night the referee went back to the centre circle laughing and that’s what shocked us all,” he added.
In a humorous explanation of why the referee allowed the goal to stand, former Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, on the expert panel of official broadcasters South African Broadcast Corp. — said, “Once with the hand is a foul. Twice with the hand is no foul. It’s a new rule.”
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