Another tweet, in a reference to the famous "hand of God" episode involving footballer Diego Maradona in a match against England in 1986, claimed the new Pope would be likely to allow football "hand goals".

BBC: Wry Brazilian welcome for Argentine Pope

And if England rode their luck in the face of an inevitable second-half revival from Argentina, who is to say they did not finally deserve it after Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" in 1986 and the desperate exit on penalties at France 98?

BBC: Owen and Butt lead the charge

Famously, Diego Maradona claimed it was the 'hand of God' that intervened in the 1986 World Cup when he scored a dubious goal against England.

BBC: Jordan's handiwork 25 years on

So in late 1997, when the navy began dredging 9m cubic yards of sand from San Diego harbour, a ready-made solution seemed at hand: the dredgings would more than replace the beach sand lost over the past decade.

ECONOMIST: California��s beaches