Diego Maradona, who died in November 2020, has been digitally brought back for a betting advertisement that has triggered outrage in Argentina. The commercial airs on Argentine television during World Cup match breaks and uses an AI-generated version of Maradona in his 1986 Mexico World Cup image, the tournament in which he scored his famous “Hand of God” goal and led Argentina to the title.
In the ad, Maradona tells the national team, “Guys, it is time to show why you have such big balls. And if the world wants to come and cut our legs off, we will show them that here they play with balls.” The message was meant to encourage Argentina as it defends its title at the 2026 World Cup and also promotes a prediction game, a quiz, and a chance to win a pair of tickets to a World Cup quarterfinal.
The ad drew heavy criticism, especially over its crude language and the decision to use Maradona’s image for gambling promotion. Rocio Oliva, his last partner, said, “If they are going to use Diego’s image, it should be for something positive that children can identify with and learn from.” She added, “There is commercial exploitation here.”
Although reports said two of Maradona’s daughters approved the commercial, their lawyer confirmed that to Clarín. Other reports said not all of Maradona’s children supported it, with Jana Maradona, Diego Junior and Diego Fernando said to believe it was inappropriate. Separate reports said Betwarrior paid more than $100,000 to Dalma and Gianinna, as well as to Jana, the Italian Diego Junior and Verónica Ojeda.
