Diego Maradona Shakes His Hand Of God With Pope Francis

Football legend Diego Maradona presented Pope Francis with an Argentina shirt ahead of the Inter-religious Match for Peace exhibition game. The former World Cup winner, who famously credited the 'Hand of God' after scoring a goal with his fist against England at the 1986 World Cup, was among several players
to meet the pontiff at the Vatican where football legends past and present came together to promote an end to hostilities in Gaza at the Inter-religious Match for Peace staged Rome.

The exhibition match was arranged at the behest of Pope Francis, himself an avid supporter of Argentine side San Lorenzo, to to promote a diplomatic solution to the ongoing crisis in Gaza.

The leader of the Roman Catholic church met several football legends including Diego Maradona, Carlos Valderrama and Allesandro Del Piero at the Vatican before the game.

In total 50 all-star players of different religious backgrounds ranging from Islam to Buddhism were invited to take part in the game at the Olympic Stadium in Rome.

The exhibition was co-hosted by the Pupi Foundation, a Buenos Aires-based charity founded by the former Inter Milan midfielder Javier Zanetti, alongside Scholas Occurentes, an educational entity launched by the Pope.

Zanetti captained the PUPI side while Italy goalkeeper, Gianluigi Buffon took charge of the  SCHOLAS. As expected, the exhibition game was a goal fest intent on entertaining the audience and finished 6-3 to the PUPI side.

DIVINE INTERVENTION: THE 50 ALL-STARS INVITED TO PLAY FOR PEACE 

Andrea Ranocchia, Andrea Pirlo, Fredy Guarìn, Mikel Arteta , Andrés Palop Cervera, Andrey Shevchenko, Antonio Mohamed, Marcos Antonio Senna Da Silva, Arturo Vidal, Carlos Valderrama, Yossi Benayoun, Dudu Aouate, Tomer Hemed, Damiano Tommasi, David Trezeguet, Degu Debebe Gebreyes, Diego Lugano, Diego Simeone, Emil Hallfreosson, Mauro Icardi, Ricky Alvarez, Juan Pablo Carrizo, Esteban Cambiasso, Fernando Tissone, Ezequiel Schelotto, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Juan Iturbe, Lionel Messi, Javier Mascherano, Maxi Rodríguez, Cristian Ledesma. Yuto Nagatomo, Ivan Zamorano, Ivan Cordoba, Roberto Baggio, Samuel Eto’o, Fernando Muslera, Filippo Inzaghi, Gabriel Heinze, Jose Chamot, Luca Toni, Lucas Podolski, Mesust Ozil, Nicola Legrottaglie, Radja Nainggolan, Ronaldinho, Stefano Mauri, Sulley Muntari and Belozoglu Emre.