Maradona death trial opens again in Argentina to decide who is responsible

Football legend and 1986 World Cup champion Diego Maradona’s trial started all over again after a previous case ended in a mistrial.

The trial begins on Tuesday, April 14, while charging the seven members of the late soccer GOAT‘s medical board with negligent homicide nearly a year later.

Maradona died on November 25, 2020, at age 60, following a heart attack while he was recovering from brain surgery to remove a blood clot.

The previous death trial, which lasted only three months, was set aside after Judge Julieta Makintach was removed following allegations of misconduct.

Mario Baudry, an attorney representing the footballer’s youngest son Diego Fernando Maradona, expressed hope for the new trial.

He said, “We hope the court will rise to the occasion, that it will understand the gravity of the crime under investigation, what they have to judge, and above all, what Diego represented for Argentinians and for the world of football.

The trial has begun in San Isidro, near Buenos Aires, and will hear testimony from just under 100 witnesses as the court prosecutes Maradona’s medical team for suspected negligence leading to his death.

Who are the defendants?

The defendants are medical psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque and psychologist Carlos Diaz, all are charged with negligence in Maradona’s death.

The negligence charges surfaced in 2021 after prosecutors appointed a medical board to investigate Maradon’s death.

The medical board arrived at the conclusion that his medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless” manner.

All the accused have pleaded not guilty to manslaughter with implied malice.

If convicted, they could face up to 25 years of imprisonment.