Seven members of Diego Maradona’s medical team returned to court in Argentina on Tuesday for a retrial over the football legend’s death, nearly a year after the first case collapsed over a judicial scandal. Maradona died on November 25, 2020, aged 60, from heart failure and pulmonary edema while recovering from brain surgery at a rented home near Buenos Aires. Prosecutors allege that his care was grossly negligent and that the defendants pursued a treatment plan despite knowing it could endanger his life.
The defendants, including doctors, nurses and other health professionals, deny the charges. They are accused of culpable homicide, or “homicide with possible intent,” and face prison terms of eight to 25 years if convicted.
The defence argues that Maradona, who had a long history of drug and alcohol addiction and serious health problems, died of natural causes and that no crime was committed. The retrial follows the collapse of the first proceedings in 2025 after Judge Julieta Makintach resigned amid allegations that unauthorised filming took place inside the courtroom for a documentary in which she appeared.
The new trial is being heard in San Isidro, near Buenos Aires, and is expected to include testimony from dozens of witnesses, including relatives, doctors and court-appointed experts.
Maradona remains one of Argentina’s most revered sporting figures, celebrated for leading the country to World Cup victory in 1986. The case has drawn intense public attention, with supporters and family members demanding accountability over the circumstances of his final days.
