Fan who saw ‘Hand of God’ goal regrets missing England’s famous Azteca win
Paul Dubberley wishes he had attended England's 3-2 victory over Mexico
An England supporter who watched Diego Maradona’s infamous “Hand of God” goal at the Estadio Azteca in 1986 has admitted he regrets missing the Three Lions’ dramatic victory at the famous stadium 40 years later.
Paul Dubberley, 67, from Aldridge in the West Midlands, attended his first World Cup in Mexico and was among the England fans inside the stadium in Mexico City when Maradona’s controversial goal helped Argentina to a 2-1 quarter-final victory.
The lifelong supporter has now followed England at 11 World Cups, travelling to all three group matches in the United States this summer before returning to support the team for the quarter-final in Miami.
But despite his connection to the Azteca, he decided not to travel to Mexico City for England’s last-16 tie against the hosts – a decision he now wishes he had not made after the Three Lions produced a memorable 3-2 victory.
“I’m actually kind of disappointed myself… that I made the decision not to go to that, because I should have,” he told the Press Association.
“I should have gone to it, really. And, of course, it was a fantastic atmosphere, a fantastic game, but we kind of made the decision before we knew the draw.
“But, in hindsight, yeah, I do regret not going to that game.”
Mr Dubberley said the experience of following England had changed dramatically since his first tournament in 1986.
“That was my first ever tournament, really. It’s kind of changed a bit since then,” he said.
“We got a ticket for the final – some guy in an Arsenal shirt walked past us when we were going to buy a ticket for a game, and he said, ‘If you go to that window, there you can get a ticket for the final.’
“We went round, four tickets to the final, about 10 quid each, and it was so much easier.
“Your group games were all in the same city, you became part of it, whereas now they have you going thousands of miles apart, and so things have changed – and not always for the better, I don’t think.
“I think the costs to the fans, I don’t think there’s any respect for the true football fans anymore, with the costs and the way that they’re treated.
“It’s just all about money now, and that’s the shame of it, really.”
Despite witnessing one of football’s most famous moments, Mr Dubberley said England fans inside the stadium did not initially realise Maradona had punched the ball into the net.
“At the time of that game, none of the England fans even realised what had happened,” he said.
“You couldn’t, because you had kind of up in the gods, you couldn’t really see what had happened.
“It was only when you got back and you watched it on the telly afterwards that you realised what all the fuss was about.
“Everyone knew that (Peter) Shilton had gone out and got booked, which was rare, but no one was quite sure why, really.
“So, you know, there’s no replays, no big screens, so it’s a bit different, really.”