Maradona Trial: Medical Team Faces Manslaughter Charges
Five and a half years after Diego Maradona’s death, the battle over how his final days were handled has returned to an Argentine courtroom.
On Tuesday, in San Isidro, just north of Buenos Aires, seven members of his medical and care team took their seats in the dock as a second trial opened, accused of manslaughter in connection with the passing of one of football’s greatest icons.
Maradona’s final days under the microscope
The defendants include Maradona’s personal doctor, Leopoldo Luque, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, a psychologist, another doctor, the medical coordinator of his health insurer, and two carers. All of them deny any wrongdoing.
If found guilty, they face prison sentences of up to 25 years.
At the heart of the case lies a stark question: did negligence in Maradona’s home care contribute to the heart attack that killed him on November 25, 2020, at the age of 60?
The 1986 World Cup winner had undergone brain surgery only weeks earlier and was recovering in a private residential complex when he died. Investigators argue that “serious mistakes” were made in managing that recovery and in the supervision he received at home.
A long, complex trial
The trial is expected to stretch over months. The court has initially set two hearing days per week, with around 90 witnesses due to be called. Families, medical experts, and those who worked closest to Maradona in his final weeks are all set to give evidence in what promises to be a detailed and, at times, raw reconstruction of his last days.
One nurse faces a separate trial, underscoring just how sprawling the legal fallout has become.
This is not the first time the case has reached this stage. The current proceedings had to be restarted after the original trial collapsed in May last year. After 21 days of hearings, that process was declared null and void when one of the three judges on the panel was suspended over her involvement in an unauthorized documentary film about the case.
So the story returns to court, heavier now with time and scrutiny. The outcome will not change the fact that Maradona is gone. But in Argentina, where his legacy cuts deep into the country’s identity, this trial will decide whether those charged with protecting him in his final weeks must now pay with their freedom.
