The trial of seven healthcare professionals accused of negligence in the death of football great Diego Maradona resumed on Tuesday, almost a year after the original proceedings collapsed when a chairman resigned after appearing in a documentary about the case.
The negligence case centers on seven medical professionals accused of failing to provide adequate care in the weeks leading up to Maradona’s death five years ago in a home outside Buenos Aires. Maradona, widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, died at the age of 60 from cardiac arrest while recovering from a procedure to treat a blood clot in his brain.
The seven suspects are charged with culpable homicide, a crime similar to involuntary manslaughter, alleging that the suspects were aware that their reckless behavior posed a risk and failed to prevent it. If found guilty, they face prison terms ranging from eight to 25 years.
Defense lawyers argue that the captain of Argentina’s 1986 World Cup-winning team suffered from multiple serious medical conditions and that no crime had been committed.
Maradona had been dealing with a series of medical problems, some due to excessive drug and alcohol use. He reportedly almost died in 2000 and 2004.
The suspects include doctor Leopoldo Luque, Maradona’s personal physician during the last years of his life, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov and psychologist Carlos Diaz.
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The hearings will take place twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Just under 100 witnesses are expected to testify, including family members, people close to the former player, medical professionals and police officers.
Judges Alberto Gaig, Alberto Ortolani and Pablo Rolón are expected to rule in early June.
The first trial ended in a mistrial last May after Julieta Makintach, one of three judges who oversaw the proceedings, resigned following criticism over her participation in a documentary about the case.
Makintach withdrew after prosecutors presented footage showing her playing a prominent role in the documentary «Divine Justice,» which covered events in the aftermath of Maradona’s death, when allegations and suspicions of foul play first came to light, at the start of the trial.
“I present my resignation with serenity, without renouncing the right to conduct my defense in the appropriate arenas,” Makintach wrote in a letter sent to judicial authorities in June.
Maradona died on November 25, 2020, weeks after undergoing surgery for a subdural hematoma. He had been admitted to a clinic in La Plata earlier that month, suffering from anemia and dehydration, before being transferred to Clínica Olivos, where he underwent the procedure. After being discharged on November 11, he moved to a house outside Buenos Aires, where he remained under medical supervision.
A 20-member medical panel appointed to investigate Maradona’s death released a report in 2021 accusing Maradona’s medical team of acting in an «inappropriate, defective and reckless manner», leaving him in pain and unaided for more than twelve hours before his death.
Published on April 14, 2026
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