The Argentina captain’s infamous 1986 World Cup goal against England sparked a disagreement between the referee and linesman that is still simmering to this day • World Cup stunning moments: Maradona and the Hand of God • Peter Shilton recalls Maradona punching one in at Mexico ‘86

On 22 June 1986 the destiny of at least three people was changed forever. By scoring both goals in a 2-1 win against England in a World Cup quarter-final, Diego Armando Maradona fully convinced the watching world he had a unique football gift which was touched not only by God, but also by the devil.

The German press agency DPA called the first goal, when the Argentinian touched the ball with his hand “the scandal of the century” and dubbed the second one as “the goal of the century”. The latter was scored by Maradona with an ingenious slalom through the England half, and half of the England team.

Yet the other two men, whose fate could not have been the same ever since, attended the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City on that fateful day dressed in black. Their names were Ali Bin Nasser from Tunisia, the referee, and Bogdan Dotchev from Bulgaria, one of his assistants.

Even if they had kept friendly relations until the day of the game, that day was the last time they spoke to each other. Ironically enough the last time they looked themselves in the eyes was in the 51st minute, when Maradona put Argentina in front with a goal the whole football world still calls the Hand of God.

TV images showed Bin Nasser running slowly backwards towards the centre of the pitch and looking at his assistant Dotchev (whose immediate reaction was to stand absolutely still), while Maradona was celebrating the controversial goal with his team-mates. The glances Bin Nasser and Dotchev exchanged in that moment must have been full of hesitation, confusion and … expectation. An expectation the other should take the responsibility for the final decision no matter what it actually was. Even if the referee and his assistant hadn’t been fully aware of the handball (crystal clear pictures and TV footage of the situation did not emerge until hours after the game), they certainly knew something was wrong. At least that was what the protests of England’s players suggested. Yet the lack of action from both officials became their only action and so the goal stood.

Diego Maradona scores his Hand of God goal against England’s Peter Shilton in 1986. Photograph: Popperfoto

“I was waiting for Dotchev to give me a hint of what exactly happened but he didn’t signal for a handball. And the instructions Fifa gave us before the game were clear – if a colleague was in a better position than mine, I should respect his view,” Bin Nasser explained many years later.

Then came Dotchev’s counterattack. “Although I felt immediately there was something irregular, back in that time Fifa didn’t allow the assistants to discuss the decisions with the referee. If Fifa had put a referee from Europe in charge of such an important game, the first goal of Maradona would have been disallowed,” Dotchev told the Bulgarian media. And so the war of words began.

Of course, the world and England had already been there before. During extra time in the 1966 World Cup final between England and West Germany at Wembley the referee from Switzerland, Gottfried Dienst, was not entirely sure if the ball had crossed the line from Geoff Hurst’s now iconic shot. Therefore Dienst passed the responsibility for the decision to his linesman Tofiq Bahramov.

Despite not being able to see the situation clearly the assistant gave a goal, which happened to be the vital third in England’s 4-2 win. Dienst confessed later that he and Bahramov didn’t speak a common language leaving them no choice but to communicate non-verbally.

That was exactly the case 20 years later with Bin Nasser and Dotchev. The Tunisian was fluent in French and English whereas his colleague from Bulgaria spoke German and Spanish. After the game between England and Argentina they spoke in the dressing room only through a translator, who had been provided by Fifa.

Off the field the lives of Dotchev and Bin Nasser couldn’t have been more different. While the Bulgarian had a degree in finance, the Tunisian worked as an engineer. Dotchev also had the added experience of a playing career. In the 60s he was a striker who played in the Bulgarian first division. After the end of his playing days he dedicated himself to refereeing. In 1977 he got on to the list of Fifa’s international officials and was present at the 1982 World Cup as well as at the one four years later. For Bin Nasser, who was nine years younger than Dotchev, the 1986 tournament in Mexico was his sole World Cup experience.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The match officials line up before kick-off: with the other linesman Berny Ulloa Morera on the left, referee Ali Bin Nasser, centre, and linesman Bogdan Dotchev. Photograph: S&G/Empics Sport

Soon after the game in Mexico City the Tunisian found a peculiar excuse for missing the notorious handball by citing a haemorrhoid treatment that, apparently, affected his sight. For a decade after that he and Dotchev refused to comment on the moment which ruined their international refereeing careers, as if they were comrades from the battlefield who had made a pact of silence. Neither of them was involved in another World Cup match, although Dotchev soon reached the age limit for an international referee and had to retire.

Bin Nasser was the first to speak about the incident again. In 2001, on the 15th anniversary of the game he gave an interview to the Argentinian newspaper Olé. “After Maradona scored I hesitated for a moment, but then I saw Dotchev running towards the centre of the pitch. And because he was better placed than me I decided to trust his judgment. No matter what happened I still think I had a good game,” Bin Nasser said.

Yet the sense of calmness which shines through that interview might be a little misleading. According to the other assistant in this game, Berny Ulloa from Costa Rica, Bin Nasser was “really sad” after seeing the TV replays at the hotel.

And what does Maradona think of the two officials who helped him score one of his most famous goals? In some interviews Maradona calls them “my amigos”. Still there was no warm reception for Dotchev in his native Bulgaria. Instead of staying involved in football he preferred to avoid the city and start a new life in a small village. “Never mind the reaction of the foreign media, the biggest insults I received back then were from Bulgarians. Some even called me a national traitor,” Dotchev said with bitterness.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Hand of God, brick-by-brick.

Unlike his Bulgarian colleague, Bin Nasser continued working in football. In 2010 he even became part of a special technical committee which had to reform Tunisian football. Furthermore one of his sons, Kacem, followed his father’s footsteps into refereeing.

Almost 30 years have passed since the Hand of God goal but the feud between Bin Nasser and Dotchev is not over. In his most recent interview the Tunisian once again put the all of the blame on the linesman. “My assistant did not raise his flag. Moreover, for three years, at the end of every year, he would write me a little note that always said the same thing: ‘My brother, my colleague, there was only the hand of Shilton.’ After that he stopped writing. He had to revise his view of the goal,” Bin Nasser said.

As you might expect Dotchev’s view is slightly different. “Bin Nasser was just not prepared well enough to referee such an important game,” he said. “And how could he be? After all he used to be in charge of some games between camels in the desert.”

They say that time heals all wounds but between these two the debate still rages as it did in the immediate aftermath.