Auction of football legend Diego Maradona's golden ball is halted by French court. Now it will be determined who actually owns the trophy, which was missing for decades.
Maradona's golden ball, which he received after Argentina's 1986 World Cup gold, was to be auctioned off on Thursday. The icon's heirs have fought to stop the sale – and now it will be as they wish.
The trophy was missing for decades after it disappeared under unclear circumstances, and only recently turned up again. Maradona's heirs have claimed that it was stolen, and that the current owner did not have the right to sell it.
The current owner, on the other hand, has said that when he bought the trophy several years ago, he was not aware that it had been stolen.
Gilles Moreu, a lawyer for the heirs, tells AP that they will now pursue a legal process to have a court determine who actually owns the golden ball.
"We are pleased with this decision," he says.
Argentina won the 1986 World Cup after defeating West Germany 3–2 in the final. However, the most talked-about match was the quarterfinal against England, where Maradona scored the century goal and the infamous "hand of God" goal.
The Argentine football star received the golden ball as the tournament's best player at a ceremony in Paris. It then vanished without a trace.
There have been speculations that Maradona played the ball in poker or sold it to pay off debts. Others say that the Argentine legend kept the trophy in a bank vault in Naples, where he played for Napoli, and that it was stolen by local gangsters in 1989.
