Nottingham Forest legend Peter Shilton was left in shock after hearing a linesman who officiated in the infamous ‘Hand of God’ World Cup quarter-final died tormented by his error.
The late Argentina star Diego Maradona, who died at the age of 60 last year after a heart attack, rose with his hand above his head as the England stopper moved to punch the ball clear.
Bulgarian linesman Bogdan Dochev’s widow previously claimed he died – aged 81 – tormented by his error, reports Leicestershire Live.
Emily Bogdan told The Mirror that her husband had even scrawled “Maradona is my gravedigger” on the back of a photo of the star.
After reading the story, the Reds’ European Cup-winning goalkeeper Shilton Tweeted: “Sad to read this, hope my sincere condolences reach Mrs Dochev via this post.”
Speaking previously, he said: “I knew he’d passed away, but all this about what had gone on in his life since the ‘Hand of God’ was new to me.
“When I found out I was very sad. I had no idea it had affected him in such a traumatic way.”
It was the 51st minute of the game in 1986 when, with the tie in the balance, Maradona punched the ball into the net and Shilton looked on in horror as Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser ignored England protests and awarded the goal.
Dochev later admitted he had seen the handball but said Bin Nasser had warned him to keep his nose out.
His widow said he had struggled to cope under the scrutiny over the incident which – along with a sublime Maradona second, and despite a Gary Lineker goal – sent The Three Lions crashing out.
According to The Mirror, she said: “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 that World Cup our life was ruined.”
Mrs Dochev added: “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.”
Shilton said: “It was obviously a very famous incident in world football, and it still is.
“He had a big part to play in that game, with a place in the semi-final of the World Cup at stake.
“This is the first time I’ve heard that the ref said that to him, basically that he could not interfere in the big decisions.
“It’s funny because I remember after the incident that he (Dochev) didn’t run straight back to the halfway line as you’d expect after a goal.
“He was still standing there and I was waiting for him to put his flag up.
“There was obviously something up, so why didn’t the ref run over to consult him? That’s troubling.”
Shilton, however, spared a thought for Dochev.