Diego Maradona admits VAR could have cost Argentina and England World Cup wins
Tuesday 25 July 2017 15:43, UK
Diego Maradona admits Video Assistant Referees would have disallowed his "hand of God", but could have also cost England the 1966 World Cup.
The infamous Argentine No 10 helped secure his team's place in the semi final of the 1986 tournament in Mexico at England's expense by using his hand to poke the ball past goalkeeper Peter Shilton in the previous round.
After witnessing the introduction of VARs in the Confederations Cup in Russia this summer, though, Maradona has admitted he would struggle to get away with the same trick again, but also insists England's football history could also look very different had the technology been around earlier.
"It's not just my goal in '86 that wouldn't have counted," Maradona told FIFA's official website. "Let's not forget that England won the World Cup in '66 with a shot that didn't go over the line.
"Then it happened to them in 2010, when (Frank) Lampard's shot crossed the line against Germany but wasn't given.
"England had the ball and scored the goal they deserved, but Germany grew in confidence after that and it changed the match completely.
"There have been lots of incidents where World Cup history would have been different if technology had been used. It's time to change all that."
VAR has been trialled for use in 'game-changing situations' only (such as goal scored, penalty decisions, direct red cards), and Maradona believes the new technology can only improve the game.
"People used to say that we'd waste a lot of time, that it would cause a lot of annoyance," he added. "But that's not the case.
"People get annoyed when something that shouldn't be given is given, or when you have a goal wrongly disallowed. Technology brings transparency and quality, and it provides a positive outcome for teams who decide to attack and take risks."
