BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Nearly 12 months after a high-profile misconduct scandal derailed the first proceeding, the long-awaited negligence trial against seven medical professionals charged in the 2020 death of Argentine soccer icon Diego Maradona officially restarted Tuesday.
Widely celebrated as one of the most talented soccer players in history, Maradona passed away at 60 from cardiac arrest, while he was recovering from emergency brain surgery to remove a blood clot. His death at his private residence outside Buenos Aires, just two weeks after his hospital discharge, sparked immediate outrage and investigations into the quality of care he received in his final days.
The seven defendants, which include Maradona’s longtime personal physician Leopoldo Luque, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, and psychologist Carlos Díaz, face charges of culpable homicide – an offense comparable to involuntary manslaughter under Argentine law. Prosecutors argue the medical team knowingly acted recklessly and failed to address the life-threatening risks they created for Maradona, and if convicted, each could face prison sentences between 8 and 25 years.
The case centers on allegations that the group of care providers failed to deliver adequate monitoring and treatment to Maradona in the weeks leading up to his death. A 2021 investigative report compiled by a 20-member independent medical panel accused Maradona’s care team of acting “inappropriately, deficiently and recklessly,” leaving the legend in severe pain without medical assistance for more than 12 hours before his cardiac arrest.
Maradona had battled severe chronic health complications for decades, many exacerbated by years of substance and alcohol use. He had already survived near-death episodes in both 2000 and 2004, according to court records. Defense attorneys for the defendants reject all criminal allegations, arguing Maradona’s death was the natural outcome of his multiple pre-existing serious conditions, and no unlawful conduct contributed to his passing.
The original 2024 trial collapsed into a mistrial after presiding judge Julieta Makintach stepped down amid intense public and legal criticism. Makintach faced backlash after footage revealed she had appeared prominently in *Divine Justice*, a documentary covering the Maradona case, raising unresolvable questions about judicial impartiality. In her resignation letter submitted to judicial authorities last June, Makintach wrote: “I present my resignation with serenity, without renouncing the right to exercise my defense in the appropriate arenas.”
For the resumed trial, hearings are scheduled to take place twice weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Roughly 100 witnesses are expected to give testimony over the coming months, including Maradona’s family members, close associates, independent medical experts, and law enforcement officials. The new three-judge panel overseeing the case – lead by Alberto Gaig, Alberto Ortolani and Pablo Rolón – is expected to issue a final verdict in early June 2025.
Fernando Burlando, the lead attorney representing Maradona’s two eldest daughters Dalma and Giannina, who are co-plaintiffs in the case, told reporters outside the courtroom ahead of Tuesday’s opening session that his legal team has full confidence in the new judicial panel. “We place enormous trust in them,” Burlando said. “They are judges with extensive experience and backgrounds.”
Burlando added that Maradona’s daughters have endured extreme emotional fatigue in the nearly five years since their father’s death, still waiting for answers about what led to his passing. “It is very difficult,” he said. “They are Maradona’s daughters, and that alone is not easy, and the fact that they cannot even have a moment of relief to know what happened to their father … although we are convinced of what happened.”