Keep it beautiful

The beautiful game or ‘O jogo bonito’ as football is affectionately called could not have had a better ambassador than Diego Maradona after the legendary Pele. But while the Argentinean Maradona is remembered for his exploits on the field, it is his ‘Hand of God’ that literally propelled him to god like status, albeit technically via a non-god like trait (“Argentine senator moots bank note on Maradona,” Dec. 8, Gulf Today).

The senator’s suggestion that Maradona should be featured on a country’s bank note may sound like a good idea. The senator presented a project to Congress to get the late soccer star and possibly even his ‘Hand of God’ image on a 1,000-peso note.

The note he suggested would feature Maradona’s face on one side and a picture of one of his most famous goals on the other.

And here comes the big question. Maradona punched the ball past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final against England. That is not a goal. And if that is glorified, the game is anything but ‘beautiful’.

Ralph R
By email