Lionel Messi may well infuriate many of his English admirers after wearing boots with Le Mano de Dios (The Hand of God) inscribed on them in the match against Holland in Group C on Wednesday.

There was a two-inch crest stitched on to the side of Lionel Messi's boots, with the inscription that will remind not only England fans, but the whole world, of the time that Argentina’s living legend Diego Maradona cheated – there is no other word for it – in Argentina’s quarter-final clash with England in the World Cup Finals in Mexico in 1986.

Maradona's “Hand of God” incident was when he came up for a header against England keeper Peter Shilton and blatantly handballed the ball into the net.

The Albiceleste star then refuelled the massive rivalry between the two countries by proclaiming after the match that it was “the Hand of God” that guided the ball into the net and that he had nothing to do with it.

Maradona was loved by football fans all around the world, but after the ‘Hand of God’ incident, he alienated himself to a lot of football fans, who found that they found it hard to respect anyone that was willing to so publicly cheat and then brag about it.

Messi came off the bench to make his World Cup debut in Argentina’s 6-0 battering against Serbia and Montenegro and dedicated the goal to Maradona, whose boots he has been tipped to fill by the legendary player himself.

“Diego came into the dressing before the last match and gave us all a team talk,” said Messi. “It motivated every player and he came up to me and had a separate chat, gave me some tips and wished me luck.

“It was a big, big lift for me and meant a lot - it was a great feeling for the team to give him that performance. He gave me the confidence I showed when I came off the bench.

“My World Cup debut could not have gone better. The team performance was very good and to score a goal was very special.”

Twenty years later, Messi has the same level of expectation and respect from all lovers of football, but his decision to have 'El mano de Dios '86- “the Hand of God ‘86” - emblazoned on his boots is surely setting the wrong impression for football, and he may well alienate himself from many of his fans around the world, the same way that Maradona did with many of his English fans.

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