Gary Lineker claims Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' goal was allowed to stand because the linesman was "afraid" to rule it out.
Maradona scored one of the most-notorious goals in World Cup history during Argentina and England's 1986 quarter-final, leaping into the air and punching the ball past Peter Shilton.
It was clear to many in the Estadio Azteca that the Argentine ace handled the ball, but Bulgarian linesman Bogdan Dochev did not chalk the goal off.
Maradona added his second four minutes later with a strike so special it was dubbed the 'Goal of the Century', while Lineker halved the deficit to no avail in the closing stages.
The Match of the Day host recalled the incident during an interview with Marca earlier this week, insisting he forgave Maradona, but could not forget the officials involved.
Asked if he had forgiven Maradona, he said: "Of course.
"I think the one I haven’t forgotten about was the referee.
"His linesman saw the handball – I am certain. But I think he was afraid."
The former Tottenham Hotspur and Everton striker's suspicions have already been confirmed, as linesman Dochev confessed he saw Maradona's punch in 2014.
"I saw the Argentinian played with hand," he said, per the Daily Mail . "During those times FIFA's rules allowed to the assistant referee to give his opinion only if asked by the referee.
"The referee admitted the goal even before taking a look at me to check the situation. We never had a communication - Bin Nasser knew only his native language."
The linesman died aged 80 in 2017 and the following year his widow, Emily, admitted the incident at Mexico '86 lingered over her late husband for the rest of his days.
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She pinned the blame on Bin Nasser and Maradona, telling The Sun : "The referee said ‘You don’t have to do any work — it will be all my calls’.
"I’ll never forgive that referee and I’ll never forgive Diego Maradona.
"After the World Cup our life was ruined. Bogdan withdrew into himself and friends never said hello to me again. It wasn’t a Hand of God for us, it was a kick in the teeth."
Emily even claimed her husband wrote "Maradona is my gravedigger" on the back of a picture of the former Barcelona and Napoli superstar.
Maradona - who died aged 60 in November last year - would go on to score a double against Belgium in the semi-finals to set up a showdown with West Germany in Mexico City.
He was handed the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player after Argentina won 3-2 in the final.
Lineker, meanwhile, won the Golden Boot as top scorer with six goals.
