Argentina’s Central Bank landed in hot water on Tuesday after announcing the release of a silver coin celebrating Diego Maradona’s legendary Goal of the Century. All this sounds fairly innocuous but there was one detail that sparked controversy: there was no mention of him anywhere.
The silver coin, which came out with the nominal value of AR$10, is part of the 2026 FIFA World Cup International Commemorative Coin Program. The bank, known as BCRA, has participated in the program previously, minting coins for the five previous FIFA World Cups.
Presentamos la moneda conmemorativa de plata Copa Mundial FIFA 2026 que tiene como motivo principal un esquema del segundo gol argentino ante Inglaterra en México 1986, considerado como el mejor de la historia de los mundiales.
⚽El anverso muestra una pelota atravesando la… pic.twitter.com/NFBzD1ALqR
— BCRA (@BancoCentral_AR) October 28, 2025 The design features a hand-drawn style schematic of Argentina’s second goal against England in Mexico 1986, considered the best in World Cup history. The move, in which Maradona covered 60 yards in ten seconds and dribbled past five English players, was voted as FIFA’s Goal of the 20th Century in 2002 and will turn 40 in 2026.
However, fans were quick to point out that both the coin and the BCRA announcement failed to mention Maradona’s role all together.
It’s not the first time the figure of the 1986 World Cup winner has become a thorn on the government’s side. Last May, pro-Milei influencer Daniel Parisini, known as El Gordo Dan posted an AI-generated image of Maradona with the president on X, with the slogan Maradona es Milei (Maradona is Milei). It prompted a fiery response by Maradona’s daughter Dalma, who insisted it’d be taken down.
During his life, Maradona, who in Argentina identified as a Peronist, was mostly aligned to leftist politicians, such as Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez, and Cristina Kirchner.
Name changes to Maradona stadium Maradona’s name was in the news on Tuesday for another reason, as the Argentine Football Association announced a new name for the La Plata stadium christened after him. The ground, which was known as the Ciudad de La Plata stadium until 2020, was given the star’s name as a homage in the year of his passing.
The stadium will know be known as the Diego Armando Maradona – Tricampeones del Mundo. The decision was part of a deal between Argentine football’s governing body and the Buenos Aires Province government.
According to AFA president Claudio Tapia, the goal is for the stadium to “become a home for Argentina’s youth, women’s and men’s national teams, as well as hosting key stages of league and cup national tournaments.”
Tapia also suggested the stadium could become the venue for a 2030 World Cup games, if the tournament moves to a 64 teams as several South American confederations are pushing for.
