PARIS: Diego Maradona’s heirs won an appeal ruling to stop the auction of a trophy the late soccer great was awarded after the 1986 World Cup when a French court ordered it placed in judicial possession on Wednesday.
The appeal court in Versailles overturned a judicial decision last month that allowed the trophy’s auction to go ahead as planned despite the opposition from Maradona’s heirs.
The tribunal argued there was a genuine dispute as to the ownership of the World Cup Golden Ball that Maradona received for being the best player of the 1986 tournament. Pending a decision on the merits of the case, it ordered its sequestration to avoid any risk of further disappearance of the trophy, which resurfaced after being missing for decades.
Gilles Moreu, a lawyer for the heirs, told The Associated Press he will now lodge a legal action to have a court look at the merits of the case and decide who owns the trophy.
“We are satisfied with this decision, which complies with our requests and reassures my clients,” he said.
French judicial officials last month opened an investigation after they received a complaint related to the resale of allegedly stolen goods.
The Golden Ball disappeared in uncertain circumstances. Maradona’s heirs say the trophy was stolen and claimed the current owner wasn’t entitled to sell it. The auction house Aguttes said the trophy reappeared in 2016 among other lots that were acquired from a private collection at auction in Paris.
The current owner and Aguttes claimed that when he bought the trophy years ago he was not aware it had been stolen.
Maradona received the award in 1986 at a ceremony in Paris. It subsequently disappeared, giving rise to rumors. One is that Maradona stored it in a safe in a Naples bank that was robbed by local gangsters in 1989 when he played in the Italian league. Maradona’s heirs believe it was stolen from the bank.
Maradona, who died in 2020 at age 60, captained Argentina in its 3-2 win over West Germany in the 1986 final in Mexico City.
Aguttes decided last week to postpone the sale that was planned on Thursday, citing a “litigious climate” and “uncertainties (which) do not allow connoisseurs to approach this acquisition calmly.”
French court stops the sale of Maradona’s World Cup Golden Ball trophy amid ownership dispute
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French court stops the sale of Maradona’s World Cup Golden Ball trophy amid ownership dispute
- The appeal court in Versailles overturned a judicial decision last month that allowed the trophy’s auction to go ahead
- Pending a decision on the merits of the case, it ordered its sequestration to avoid any risk of further disappearance of the trophy
FIFA accused of ‘monumental betrayal’ over latest World Cup ticket prices
- Fan organization Football Supporters Europe (FSE) described the current prices as “extortionate”
- The FSE called on FIFA to immediately halt ticket sales via national associations “until a solution that respects the tradition, universality, and cultural significance of the World Cup is found”
BERLIN: Soccer fans have accused FIFA of a “monumental betrayal” after latest prices for World Cup tickets began to circulate on Thursday.
The governing body allocates 8 percent of tickets to national associations for games involving their team to sell to the most loyal fans.
And a list published by the German soccer federation revealed prices ranged from $180-$700 for varying group stage games. The lowest price for the final was $4,185 and the highest was $8,680.
Those group-stage prices are very different from FIFA’s claims of $60 tickets being available, while the target from United States soccer officials when bidding for the tournament seven years ago was to offer hundreds of thousands of $21 seats across the opening phase of games.
Fan organization Football Supporters Europe (FSE) described the current prices as “extortionate.”
“This is a monumental betrayal of the tradition of the World Cup, ignoring the contribution of supporters to the spectacle it is,” it said in a statement.
The English Football Association shared pricing information with the England Supporters Travel Club (ESTC) on Thursday evening, which showed that if a fan bought a ticket for every game through to the final it would cost just over $7,000.
FIFA said in September that tickets released through its website would initially range from $60 for group-stage matches to $6,730 for the final. But those prices are subject to change as it adopts dynamic pricing for the first time at the World Cup.
FIFA tickets are available in four categories, with the best seats in Category 1.
In the price list published by the German federation, there were only three categories.
The lowest priced ticket was $180 for Germany’s opening group game against Curacao in Houston. The lowest price for the semifinal was $920 rising to $1,125.
The FSE called on FIFA to immediately halt ticket sales via national associations “until a solution that respects the tradition, universality, and cultural significance of the World Cup is found.”
The Associated Press approached FIFA for comment.
Latest phase
FIFA launched its third phase of widespread ticket sales Thursday, with fans now able to apply for specific matches for the first time through its “Random Selection Draw.”
Following last week’s draw for the 2026 tournament, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, an updated schedule has been published.
That means fans know when and where the likes of Lionel Messi and Argentina will play. Previous ticket ballots were blind as the qualification period had not even been completed and the draw was yet to take place.
Now participating nations have been placed in groups, with their paths through the tournament determined. For instance, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo could go on to meet in the quarterfinals in Kansas City if both Argentina and Portugal top their respective groups.
Not that fans are guaranteed to get tickets to the games they apply for.
The draw opened Dec. 11 at 11 a.m. ET (1600 GMT) and closes Jan. 13, 2026.
FIFA says ticket applications can be made at any point during this window and the timing of entry will not impact the chances of success. Fans can apply via FIFA’s website for a maximum of four tickets per household per match and a maximum of 40 tickets throughout the tournament.
Fans will need a FIFA ID to apply for tickets and can pick which matches and which pricing category they want to apply for.
Successful applicants will be notified by email in February and charged automatically.
Prices
The last time the US hosted the World Cup in 1994 prices ranged from $25 to $475. In Qatar in 2022 prices ranged from around $70 to $1,600 when ticket details were announced.
Tickets for the final at MetLife Stadium on July 19 are already going for in excess of $11,000 on secondary resale sites.
For this tournament FIFA has also set up its own resale platform where it charges a 15 percent fee based on the total resale price.
FIFA said that closer to the tournament any remaining tickets will go on general sale on a first-come, first-served basis.
It did not reveal a time frame for the release of those remaining tickets.
