The new Diego Maradona documentary hit UK cinemas this week and in it the man himself reveals that he saw his ‘Hand of God’ against England in 1986 as ‘revenge’ for the Falklands War.

Maradona famously punched in an equaliser during Argentina’s 2-1 quarter-final win over the Three Lions at the World Cup in Mexico.

The controversial South American football icon then scored one of the best goals of all time to send Argentina through to the semis, where they beat Belgium before defeating West Germany in the final.

Four years earlier, Argentina and Britain had been at war over the Falklands Islands.

After 10 weeks of bloody battle, Britain prevailed and the conflict was on Maradona’s mind when he came up against England on the pitch.

‘We, as Argentinians, didn’t know what the military was up to,’ Maradona recalls during the documentary, which was directed by Asif Kapadia.

‘They told us that we were winning the war. But in reality, England was winning 20-0. It was tough.

‘The hype made it seem liked we were going to play out another war.

‘I knew it was my hand. It wasn’t my plan but the action happened so fast that the linesman didn’t see me putting my hand in. The referee looked at me and he said: “Goal.”

‘It was a nice feeling like some sort of symbolic revenge against the English.’

Maradona punched the ball into the net for Argentina in a World Cup quarter-final in Mexico