Former Lazio midfielder Paul Gascoigne defended the honour of Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona after complaints about his sportsmanship from former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton whilst speaking on British broadcaster ITV yesterday, as reported by Italian media outlet La Lazio Siamo Noi.
Maradona passed away earlier this week aged 60, prompting an outpouring of love and support for the Argentine footballing hero, who won two league titles with Napoli in his career.
One man who is not a fan of Maradona is former English shot-stopper Peter Shilton, who played against the player in the 1986 World Cup. This was the game which Maradona scored both the infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal and his incredible solo goal.
Gascoigne responded to Shilton’s comments, saying:
Diego was an icon of football, it was a privilege to play against him in a friendly match.
I know a lot of people go on about the hand of God. It made Peter Shilton anyway. Shilts, it made you that goal!
Shilton was not impressed, responding:
Thanks for that Gazza, I did play for another 20 years on after that.
Gascoigne spent three years of his career with Lazio, from 1992 to 1995. In that time, he made 47 appearances for the club, for a total of 3529 minutes.
On the pitch, he scored six goals and provided three assists for the Roman club, including a goal in the derby against Roma.
