Butcher says he will never forgive Maradona

TERRY Butcher's simmering refusal to forgive Diego Maradona's fraudulence at the World Cup in Mexico in 1986 ensures that, when the two men meet at Hampden Park tomorrow night, the infamous Hand of God will not be allowed to wrap itself around the fists of rage in a gesture of friendship and reconciliation.

Scotland's assistant manager, characteristically, raised a few laughs yesterday with his deliberations on the newly-appointed Argentina manager, but his resentment more than 22 years after Maradona punched the ball past goalkeeper Peter Shilton to begin England's elimination from the tournament remains as deep as it was on the day the most notorious deception in the history of the game was perpetrated.

"I'll never forgive him," said Butcher, "because it's not nice to lose in those circumstances. It's not that not a day has passed without me thinking about that moment. I'm not that sad. I mean, I don't have a Maradona doll with pins in it, although, come to think of it, that could be a good idea. I might get one.

"I did actually face him again not long afterwards, when I played for the Rest of World team in Pasadena and Maradona played for the Americas. I think we were two up and they made it 2-2 and they won on penalties, so he haunted me even after the World Cup. I've not seen his face yet, only the back of his head. If you put a silhouette up in front of me of the back of his head, I would probably recognise him more than anybody else in the world.

"I wouldn't particularly want to speak to him about the incident. We'll have adjacent technical areas at Hampden and that's about it. Will I shake his hand after the game? It's not something I'd think about. Sometimes I do that with the other coach, sometimes I don't. Mostly I do when it's somebody I know because I've played against him, but in Maradona's case, it's a bit different.

"Nowadays, Maradona might get a two-match ban from Fifa for conning the referee, but whatever he might get wouldn't matter, because the deed would have been done. But I think I'd pay a few thousand pounds to be in that drugs testing room again if he was going to be in there.

"He came into the drugs room celebrating and he was the last person I wanted to see. Also, remember, he scored a wonderful second goal – probably the best I've ever seen – and he beat me twice when doing that so I'm sitting there more shocked than anyone else. Not speaking Spanish, I gestured to him to ask, 'Head or hand?" and he touched his head to suggest he had done nothing wrong.

"It was a very small room and with three Englishmen beside him – Gary Stevens and Kenny Sansom were in with me – maybe he thought he'd take the safe option, which he did. That irritated me even more. If he'd come in and said he's used his hand and apologised, I'd probably have hit him just four or five times instead of the usual twenty. What really irks is his behaviour for so long afterwards, when he didn't admit it.

"But, really, I blame Stevie Hodge, my team-mate, because if he boots the ball down the pitch instead of trying to play it back to the goalkeeper, we'd have been all right. I thought he had sliced it while trying to clear, but he had actually tried to flick it back to Shilts. I saw Stevie recently, but I had to be pulled away from him, because I had my hands round his throat."

Butcher, in common with the majority of observers, was initially surprised by Maradona's appointment, given his history of drug and alcohol abuse and his two short-lived previous attempts at coaching. He now sees a certain sense in it, especially as he is supported by Carlos Bilardo, who led the Maradona-inspired Argentina to that World Cup triumph in Mexico.

"My first reaction to the Maradona appointment was surprise, but you can see the logic in it," he said. "Argentina are only fourth in their qualifying group, they haven't been playing particularly well and possibly needed somebody to unite the whole country. Which is what Maradona will do.

"It's like having a Denis Law or a Kenny Dalglish in charge of Scotland. The best player ever is put in charge of your country and you're selected by that person. What a huge honour that will feel. Maradona picks you and you think, 'Wow, I've been picked by him.' I think that lifts everybody.

"It won't be about tactics with Maradona. It's the personality, the man. The other things will be left to Bilardo and the backroom staff. You can sense it working against us on Wednesday, because every Argentine player will be saying, 'I'm going to prove to you that I deserve to be part of the future under you'."

For all his lingering anger over the events of two decades ago, Butcher realises he will not have many allies in the matter of bad-mouthing Maradona, not even in his own dressing-room. He knew that within a few weeks of the incident, when he arrived in Scotland to sign for Rangers, and it was reinforced two nights ago, when he addressed the Scotland squad.

"I know there'll be thousands at Hampden who regard Maradona as a hero," he said. "When I came to Scotland, I saw more Argentina shirts than I'd seen in Mexico. I was telling the Scotland players last night I didn't have a particularly strong liking for Argentina when Faddy piped up and said, 'Well, we actually like Maradona'."

His parting comment on his old tormentor could be construed as another pin in the Maradona doll he is considering. Asked if the Argentine was the greatest player he ever saw, he replied: "No. He was the best I ever played against, but Pele is the best I've ever seen. Not just because of Maradona's later life, but because the way Pele played, the goals he scored in World Cups, makes him stand out more than Maradona. Two wonderful players, but Pele first and Maradona second."