Award for 'ride of the season' not so much the Hand of God as a crass own goal

Who remembers Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal against England in the 1986 World Cup? A more salient way to ask the question is who can possibly forget it? Even millennials who weren't born have become familiar with one of the most infamously treacherous acts in the field of sporting endeavour.

So imagine the outrage, if you will, had a panel of experts deliberated over the goal of the season and plumped for Maradona’s sleight of hand which sent millions of neutrals, not to mention the entire population of England, into fits of apoplexy. It was as clear a case of a professional foul as you’re ever likely to see – and one that would never stand once VAR becomes as integral to football as referees.

If you’re interested in racing, however, you don’t have to trouble your imagination. You’ll be just as flabbergasted to learn Patrick Mullins was adjudged to have given the “ride of the season” to Rathvinden when the combination won the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham in March.