Finger of god: Diego Maradona’s ‘meltdown’ as Argentina beat Nigeria at the World Cup

Former Argentine great is ‘fine’ after
seeing a doctor during the group D encounter

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The victory ensured the South Americans’ passage into the
last-16, and a showdown with France on Saturday, but it appeared to
be all too much for the pint-sized genius.

At the 1986 World Cup it was Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ that
eliminated England from the tournament but when Marcos Rojo scored
the winner for Argentina five minutes from time, the 57-year-old
was “caught on TV lunging forwards from his executive box seat and
giving opposing fans below ‘the finger’ with both
hands”.

Gary Lineker, who played in the 1986 encounter, said later on
the BBC that Maradona had let himself down by
his reaction and “there’s a danger of him becoming a laughing
stock, I’m afraid, in many ways”. 

Minutes after Maradona’s wild celebrations he appeared to
collapse and he had to be helped from his seat to the hospitality
suite at the St Petersburg’s Zenit Arena.

Medical staff checked his pulse and reports claim that he
was taken to hospital in the city for precautionary checks where,
according to the Sun, “preliminary diagnosis later confirmed he had
high blood pressure and a heart murmur”.

That didn’t stop him boarding a private jet for a flight
to Moscow in the early hours, a suitably bizarre end to a bizarre
evening.

Maradona later said he was “fine” after seeing the doctor, the
BBC reports. He posted on social media: “I want to
tell everyone that I am fine. I was checked by a doctor and he
recommended me to go home before the second half, but I wanted to
stay because we were risking it all. How could I leave?” 

Despite the drama of Argentina’s 2-1 win, which saw
Nigeria level from the penalty spot in the second half after Lionel
Messi had scored his first goal of the tournament on 14 minutes,
Maradona appeared to doze off several times during the
match.