Former England midfielder Peter Reid was another to drop into Wasl’s Zabeel Stadium to meet the man labelled by former Three Lion boss Sir Bobby Robson a “rascal” after his infamous “hand of God” goal in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final.
But while Reid was all smiles as he not only shook Maradona’s hand, but kissed it, former team-mate, Shilton, was not so forthcoming on a recent media trip to Abu Dhabi as he opted against a face-to-face meeting with his old foe.
Shilton, England’s all-time most capped player, has been vocal in his criticism of Maradona’s actions and has said he would never offer the hand of friendship to Maradona until he apologises.
Reflecting on the incident in an interview with Spanish daily AS last week, Shilton says that, 26 years on, he isn’t so much upset about the handball itself as the fact that Maradona has never once admitted that he did anything wrong.
“The only thing that bothers me is that Maradona has never apologised,” he says. “At the end of games, if something happens between football players, we apologise for it. But he never did, did he? He’s the bestplayer I ever played against. But I wouldn’t offer him my hand if we met.”
Maradona has hit back though. Reiterating comments he made in an exclusive interview with Sport360° last month, the Argentine has said he had nothing to apologise for and has called for Shilton to “get over it”.
“Please get over it,” said Maradona. “This happened so many years back and you [Shilton] are the one who had to bend and bring the ball back from the net. For me, that incident is a memory. I am not living in the past.
“I don’t mind shaking his hand but he is the one who did not invite me to his testimonial, saying I am a cheat. That’s okay with me but I will not apologize for something that happened 25 years ago.”
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