The planned sale of the Golden Ball trophy awarded to the late Diego Maradona has been postponed indefinitely amid a judicial investigation into the possible resale of stolen goods. The French auction house, Aguttes, had intended to auction off the trophy, which was awarded to Maradona for being the best player at the 1986 World Cup, this week. However, the sale was put on hold after the lawyers for Maradona’s heirs lodged an appeal against the court ruling that allowed the auction to go ahead.
The investigation was launched by French judicial officials after a complaint was made about the resale of allegedly stolen goods. The Nanterre prosecutor’s office has stated that the court ruling has no impact on the ongoing probe, which is continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the trophy’s disappearance and reappearance.
Maradona’s heirs have long claimed that the trophy was stolen from a safe in a Naples bank where Maradona stored it in the late 1980s. They argue that the current owner is not entitled to sell the trophy, but the owner and Aguttes maintain that they were unaware of its stolen status when they acquired it in 2016.
Maradona (Via Maradona/Twitter)
The trophy’s disappearance has sparked numerous rumors over the years, with some claiming it was lost during a poker game or sold to pay off debts. Others believe it was stolen from the bank, where it was stored after Maradona replaced the official safe with a fake one.
The French court ruling that allowed the auction to go ahead noted the absence of any criminal complaint lodged by Maradona during his lifetime and the lack of evidence that a police investigation was carried out when the trophy disappeared. Maradona, who passed away in 2020, was the captain of Argentina’s national team during their victorious 1986 World Cup campaign, which included the infamous “Hand of God” goal and the “Goal of the Century”.
Aguttes has stated that it expects the trophy to fetch millions of dollars due to its uniqueness, but the auction’s postponement means that the exact date and terms of the sale remain uncertain. The ongoing investigation and legal wrangling have cast a shadow over what was intended to be a historic sale of a piece of footballing memorabilia.
