Ali Ben Nasser (also spelled Ali Bennaceur, ; born 2 March 1944) is a Tunisian former football referee.

1986 FIFA World Cup

Argentina-England refereeing dispute

Nasser refereed the match between

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-tea ...

, where the " Hand of God" and the "Goal of the Century" were scored by Argentine captain

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...

to win the match. For the "Hand of God" goal, Maradona punched the ball into the net, however, Ben Nasser said that he did not see this and thought that Maradona had headed the ball. Both Ben Nasser and his Bulgarian assistant linesman Bogdan Dochev blamed each other for the handball being missed. Ben Nasser said he waited for a signal from Dochev of a handball, but since none came, he awarded the goal. TV footage backs this up, as it shows Ben Nasser looking at him after the goal expectantly. Dochev, however, blamed Ben Nasser, saying that at the time assistant referees were not allowed by FIFA to discuss decisions with referees: whatever the referee decided was final. He suggested Ben Nasser's inexperience at the highest levels of football in World Cup was to blame.

Further appearances

At the 1986 FIFA World Cup finals, he was also the first official in the group match between

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

as well as an assistant in three further matches at the tournament, including the round of 16 fixture between

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. He never officiated a FIFA World Cup match again after the 1986 tournament.

Later life

On 17 August 2015,

Maradona Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...

visited Ben Nasser at his home in Tunisia and paid tribute to him, offering him an Argentine jersey bearing his signature and called him his "eternal friend."

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ben Nasser, Ali 1944 births Living people Tunisian football referees 1986 FIFA World Cup referees