John Barnes: Forget the Hand of God – I have no issues with Maradona

Watford and Liverpool legend John Barnes was part of the England squad that travelled to Mexico for the 1986 World Cup.

Barnes came on as a second-half substitute for the memorable quarter-final tie between Argentina and England.

Here, Barnes reflects on one of the most iconic games in the history of football, featuring Diego Maradona’s famous Hand of God, as well as the mesmeric Argentine’s Goal of the Century.

The 1986 World Cup was a special tournament because the whole country of Mexico embraced it. Wherever you went, there was World Cup fever – it was sensational. It was my first World Cup too, and at that age – I was 23 – you think this may be the only time to represent your country at a World Cup. For most of the tournament, I was an unused substitute, but just being part of the team was special, and then I was given my opportunity off the bench in the quarter-final against Argentina.

At that time, Diego Maradona was the best player in the world – no one else came close. In recent times, you’ve had the rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronalod, but back then, Maradona was the greatest and such a nice guy as well. Whatever people want to say about Maradona, I can’t say a bad word about him.

Maradona was my favourite player ever, so during that quarter-final, my eyes were only focused on him. When their opening goal went in, straightaway we knew Diego had used his hand. I was on the bench with the manager Bobby Robson, and the rest of the substitutes. We just couldn’t believe the referee hadn’t seen it. Maradona of course knew, and the Argentine players too. But in football, it’s just one of those things that goes against you.

Forget the Hand of God, I have no issues with Diego – the referee should have seen it. But his second goal in that game - the Goal of the Century – it wasn’t a bad one! 

You also have to remember the context of that game. It followed the Falklands War, which had taken place a few years earlier. The Argentina team and fans were really fired up for that game. And unfortunately for us, 1986 wasn’t our year.

But to share a pitch with Diego was phenomenal, it was just a shame I didn’t manage to swap shirts with him! When Bobby said to me, get warmed up, it was the best feeling ever. Not that I thought I could turn the game around, but to play in a World Cup for England against Maradona was special.

Relive some of international football's most iconic moments exactly as they were reported at the time with our collection of football newspaper books:

– The Football History of the World Cup Book
– The Football History of England Book
– The Football History of Scotland Book
– The History of US Men's Soccer Book
– The Football History of the England Women's Team Book
– The Football History of Wales Book