How Bangladeshi fans remember the night Maradona's hand changed everything

Some goals are remembered for their beauty. Others are remembered for the arguments they start. On 22 June 1986, at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, Diego Maradona gave the world both within four minutes.

First came a punched-in goal the referee Ali Bin Nasser somehow missed, one Maradona later called "a little bit of the head of Maradona and a little bit of the hand of God". Then came a mesmerising 60-yard dribble past half of England's defence, still voted among the greatest goals ever scored.

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Argentina won 2-1 and marched on to lift the World Cup, while England went home with a grudge that never quite faded.

The two sides last met at a World Cup in 2002, settled by a single David Beckham penalty, long before Messi had ever worn the Argentina shirt. Now, drawn against each other again, Messi faces England at a World Cup for the first time in his career, and the ghosts of 1986 have resurfaced.

We asked people who watched that night on their black-and-white televisions and some who only inherited the story what they remember and what they make of this new meeting.

"I watched the goal with my university friends in our common room. At first, we thought it was a header. We even cheered. Only on the replay were we sure Maradona had used his hand. Even now, I think it was pure theft." – Towhidul Alam, 63, project manager and devoted Brazil fan.

"Such things happen in football, and honestly, it is acceptable. Every big player has done something clever to win a match; people just remember Maradona's because he was bold enough to talk about it." – Hamida Begum, professor and Argentina fan in her mid-50s.

"I remember watching it with my family, everyone crowded around one television in the neighbourhood. It was such a wonderful moment. But my most vivid memory of Maradona isn't 1986; it's 1994, when he tested positive in a dope test and was sent home from the World Cup. That evening felt like the sky had fallen; our hero was gone overnight. So, when I watch this Argentina team with Messi now, it feels like something coming full circle, like the story that was so suddenly cut short is finally being allowed to finish properly." – Shanta, a homemaker in her 70s and lifelong Maradona admirer.

"Our black-and-white television was a hired one, borrowed from a neighbour, a middle-aged non-Bengali man who lived alone because his family had been sent to Pakistan. He asked me to stay over and watch it with him. The opening was cautious as usual, but a few minutes in, that Hand of God goal happened. 
I was half asleep and couldn't follow it properly, and honestly, many of us who watched it were left dumbfounded. It was only on the replay that it became clear Maradona had done some foul play." – Rajib Dhar Choudhury, 53, English teacher.

"Honestly, I think England fans exaggerate it because they lost. If England had scored an unfair goal and still won, nobody would still be talking about it 40 years later." – Aminah Rahman, 68, cardiologist and France supporter.

"I wasn't even born then, but my uncles told the story so many times growing up that I feel like I watched it myself. What amazes me is that the same match also gave us the Goal of the Century, minutes later. Chaos and genius side by side – that's very on brand for Argentina." – Shahrukh Hasan, 27, seasonal football fan and graphic designer.

"Referees back then simply didn't have the tools to be fair the way they can be now. It wasn't bias; it was limitation. If that match happened today with VAR, Maradona's goal would be disallowed in ten seconds, and we'd be having a completely different conversation." – Iqbal Chowdhury, 71, retired mechanical engineer and lifelong England supporter.

"People act like Argentina invented controversy, but every football-loving nation has a moment like this. What makes that goal different is that Maradona never denied it; he almost celebrated the cheekiness of it. That's what keeps the story alive, not the handball but his refusal to apologise." – Tania, 68, lawyer and self-declared neutral fan, except when Germany is playing.

40 years on, some still call it a stolen goal, others call it street-smart genius, and that gap is what makes 1986 such a stubborn story to put to rest. For many Bangladeshi households, it remains a match passed down like family folklore, argued over long after the players themselves retired.

With Argentina and England sharing a pitch again for the first time since 2002, and Messi walking in with no history against England of his own, the old story suddenly feels relevant again. Whatever happens this time, one thing feels certain — somewhere in Bangladesh, someone will be staying up till 3 AM to watch it, just like they did in 1986.

*Some names have been changed upon request.