Podbit · The Louis Theroux Podcast
The linesman who failed to flag Maradona's handball in 1986 later admitted in a book that he was pretty sure it was a handball — he just didn't have the nerve to call it. Lineker also got Maradona himself to confess during a documentary.
Where this was said
At 41:50 · chapter starts 39:10
The 1986 quarter-final against Argentina is framed as probably the most famous game in football history — played four years after the Falklands War with Maradona at his absolute peak. Lineker is clear that within the squad, they were focused on football rather than politics, though they were aware of the charged context. The match produced two of football's most iconic moments within minutes of each other: the handball that became the Hand of God, and the Goal of the Century. Lineker reveals that the linesman later admitted in a book he was fairly sure it was a handball but lacked the nerve to flag. He also describes spending three days with Maradona filming a documentary, comparing the experience to the Life of Brian's Messiah scenes, and noting he managed to get Maradona to privately confess it was with his hand. He describes Maradona as 'a lovely, really great guy' despite the chaos of his life. Lineker's own header in that game — the goal nobody remembers — is mentioned with gentle irony. [1] — Gary Lineker "The linesman who failed to flag Maradona's handball in 1986 later admitted in a book that he was pretty sure it was a handball — he just di…" 41:50
Spending three days with Maradona was like the Life of Brian, Lineker says. Everywhere he went was like a Messiah procession. He was also, Lineker insists, genuinely lovely, thoughtful and funny — a complicated man made complicated by an impossible life.
Thomas's wife deferred her CrossFit career — she's in the global top 1% of athletes — to put him through law school debt-free. He wants her to chase the dream now; she wants the emergency fund and house down payment first. On a $200K lawyer income with no debt, the opportunity cost is just a few months of slower saving.
Underground calisthenics battles are exactly like UFC meets a rap battle — 150 people crowded around a circle, fighters walking out with masks and chains, nicknames like 'Extra Money' vs 'Calisthenics the Prince,' and people throwing money and betting. The battle set: 100 burpees, 50 muscle-ups, 75 dips, 75 squats with a 65-pound dumbbell. This is the next big spectator sport.
Rico Verhoeven controlled the undisputed heavyweight boxing champion for approximately 10 rounds — and had his appeal upheld when officials admitted the fight was stopped after the bell. The result was never overturned. Rogan calls it either incompetence or corruption, and argues the money behind Usyk made an upset politically inconvenient.
Rogan lays out a blunt case: boxing's 3-judge system is structurally broken, and the judges know who the promoter wants to win. Glory's 5-judge format is the right model. Corruption doesn't have to be conscious — just knowing Usyk is the cash cow is enough to tilt the scales.
With the Usyk-Wilder fight stalling and Fury-Joshua coming too late, the real fight the world wants is the rematch. Rico is a free agent. Usyk vacated his belts. The story is unfinished and both Rogan and Rico know it. His Excellency Turki Alasheikh already called for it ringside — the question is money.
Rico texted Jason Statham during the Canelo-Crawford fight. Statham showed Rico's highlight videos to promoters. Two days later, Rico was on a call about fighting Anthony Joshua. When Joshua pulled out, Rico pitched Usyk himself — Undisputed vs. Undisputed. Usyk said yes in two weeks. The whole thing started with one text.
Every heavyweight who faced Usyk tried to move to the right — straight into his power hand. Rico and Peter Fury identified the obvious solution: move left, away from the left hand, and smother him with size. It sounds simple. Nobody had done it. That one adjustment was the foundation of 10 dominant rounds.
MMA fans boo when fights go to the ground. They love stand-up. Kickboxing is pure stand-up. Yet it barely exists in America while boxing and MMA are enormous. Rogan's diagnosis: no promotion machine. If the UFC got behind kickboxing the way they've built MMA, it would explode. The talent is there — the storytelling machine is not.
A nation of 17 million people gave the world Ramon Deckers, Peter Aerts, Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef, Rob Kamen, Ernesto Hoost, and Rico Verhoeven. Rico's theory: the country is so small that every gym shares knowledge freely. In the US, you need a flight. In Holland, you drive 40 minutes and spar the national champion.
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