Former England defender Terry Fenwick has revealed that he elbowed Diego Maradona in the face during the 1986 World Cup quarter-final, knocking him unconscious for over four minutes, only for the Argentine legend to return and score one of the most controversial goals in football history.
Fenwick's Elbow on Maradona
Speaking exclusively to Chronicle Live, the Seaham Harbour-born former Tottenham Hotspur and England star described the physical battle he had with Maradona at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. Fenwick said: "Me and him had two or three tear-ups on the field of play before all that, trust me! I elbowed him in the second half before hand."
"I elbowed him, and I thought: 'That’s him off'. I knocked him out after he went up for a header, elbow, bosh, out. He was off the field for four and a half minutes."
Fenwick was stunned when Maradona recovered and returned to the pitch. "I couldn’t believe it when I saw him warming up to come back on the pitch. The thing is, Maradona was not just a great player; he was tough as nails. You kick him, he’d boot you back, you fight him, he’d fight back; he was one of them who was always ready to go. He is the best player I’ve ever seen."
The Hand of God and VAR
Fenwick believes that had VAR been in use in 1986, the outcome of the match would have been different. He said: "Watching the game back is an eye-opener against Argentina in Mexico. Before Diego Maradona scored that second goal, the tackle on Glenn Hoddle was a major foul. Back in the day, people talked up the game and about Diego scoring the best-ever World Cup goal."
"But what people don’t understand is that when he scored, it was a blatant handball, not the hand of God. It should have been handball, free-kick England, and off you go again."
Fenwick added: "It wasn’t the best World Cup quarter-final game you have ever seen, but we were still the best side. The only difference between the two teams was that they had Maradona."
England's Shock and Maradona's Legacy
Reflecting on Maradona's solo goal, Fenwick noted that England were still in shock from the earlier controversy. "The goal is still talked about as the best ever goal, but we were still in shock at the injustice. We were still saying: 'What the hell happened there - it was handball'."
Fenwick recalled: "When you see the replay again and again and again. Look back at the replay, Peter Shilton went up with him, I’m in between them and my hand went up straight away appealing for a handball. Only when I turned and recognised where the referee was, I realised he’d missed that and hadn’t seen it."
He explained the limitations of officiating at the time: "Back in the day the linesman could only make a decision for throw ins or offside. He could not make a decision on fouls or free-kicks back then; he was limited. But it was unbelievable, and Maradona then called it the hand of God, and everybody forgot it to get on with the rest of the tournament."
Fenwick concluded: "We’re on a flight home and still saying: 'What happened there then?' It was crazy. I’ve been asked to go to Argentina to talk about the game and Maradona. When Maradona wrote a book, I was the only Englishman who got a mention in there. But that’s the game we are in. We have VAR these days, and refs back in the day made different decisions here and there."
