He wasn't the first player to cheat, including in that game against England where he was hacked down in the first half by Fenwick who received a yellow card, before being elbowed in the face a little later by the same player without sanction. The hand ball was ridiculous. Ridiculous that he would try it, ridiculous that the ref or lino failed to see it and even more ridiculous that a goalkeeper over half a foot taller and with an outstretched arm failed to reach the ball first after lumbering slowly from his line. ( This chronic failure of athleticism cost England again four years later, when Shilton could barely get off the ground as a deflected free kick slowly floated over his head in the semi against Germany.) So Maradona got away with one in a game England were hardly competing in. He should not be judged on that alone. But he was a bloody amazing footballer who drove a decent team to winning the world cup and to the final four years later, and even more incredibly won Serie A twice with Napoli, all the while being violently assaulted in almost every game. He was hardly a role model, but as with many like him who reach fame and acquire vast riches and come from poor backgrounds, few people really helped him. Most were on the take.
