England great Gary Linekar slammed for hiding cheeky pun in his Diego Maradona condolence

Argentina football legend Diego Maradona died of a heart attack on Wednesday at the age of 60, triggering an outpouring of emotional tributes from people across the globe. Former England Striker and football pundit Gary Linekar paid tribute to the legendary footballer but was criticised by several fans over what was a clear and cheeky reference to Maradona's "hand of God".

'Not the time to make puns Gary'

"By some distance the best player of my generation and arguably the greatest of all time. After a blessed but troubled life, hopefully, he'll finally find some comfort in the hands of God. #RIPDiego," Linekar tweeted. His tweet did not go well with many as he had to defend the infamous reference he used. One user said, "Not the time to make puns Gary”, but the striker-turned-pundit replied: “Don't be ridiculous. It's heartfelt.”

Brazilian journalist Eduardo Monsanto hit out at Gary Linekar and said, “Show some respect." Lineker defended his tweet as he replied, “Sorry, where's the disrespect?’”

In the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal, Maradona scored two of Football's most astounding goals, weaving through England's midfield and defence before finding the back of the net. But, in one of the most infamous acts of cheating in the sport's history, he also sneaked another past goalkeeper Peter Shilton by knocking the ball in with his left hand. He later coined one of the most infamous phrases in soccer history, crediting that goal to the "Hand of God."

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Lineker had scored England's goal when they lost 2-1 to Argentina. It was a tournament-leading sixth goal for Lineker. The victory was Argentina's first over England in World Cup competition. The English won in 1962 and 1966, going on to win the tournament in the latter year. Argentina went on to win the World Cup in 1986. The pair have a history together after Lineker tracked the World Cup winner to Buenos Aires in 2006 for BBC documentary,'When Lineker met Maradona'.

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