Retrial into 'culpable homicide' of Diego Maradona to begin
A retrial into the death of football legend Diego Maradona is set to begin on Tuesday.
Maradona passed away on November 25, 2020, at the age of 60, after suffering heart failure.
The Argentinian had been recovering at his home in Tigre at the time, following successful surgery on a brain blood clot earlier that month.
A retrial into the death of football legend Diego Maradona is set to begin on Tuesday. Pic: Gustavo Garello/Jam Media/Getty Images
However, Maradona’s medical team are accused of failing to administer proper medical care, and seven people will be tried for homicide with possible intent.
In May 2025, the first trial collapsed after one of the three judges on the case allegedly allowed unauthorised filming in court for a documentary.
Maradona’s medical team have denied the allegations against them, though they could face between eight and 25 years in prison, if convicted.
Maradona passed away on November 25, 2020, at the age of 60. Pic: Michael Kunkel/Bongarts/Getty Images
The case against them has been classified by investigators as culpable homicide, which is a crime similar to involuntary manslaughter.
The team is accused of being aware of the seriousness of Maradona’s health condition but not taking the necessary measures to save him.
According to Maradona’s preliminary autopsy, the heart failure caused him to suffer acute pulmonary oedema, which is when fluid builds up in the lungs.
A panel of experts said the treatment Maradona received at his home was ‘deficient and reckless’. Pic: Bongarts/Getty Images
After being asked by prosecutors to investigate the medical team, a panel of experts said the treatment Maradona received at his home was ‘deficient and reckless’.
It said that the footballing great ‘would have had a better chance of survival’ with adequate treatment in an appropriate medical facility.
The seven people on trial include Maradona’s main medical adviser, Leopoldo Luque, and his psychiatrist, Agustina Cosachov.
Maradona is widely known to have been one of the greatest footballers to have ever played the sport. Pic: AFP via Getty Images
The footballer’s former nurse, Dahiana Gisela Madrid, will stand in a separate trial.
The trial is expected to last until July, with around 100 people set to testify in front of a new set of judges.
Maradona is widely known to have been one of the greatest footballers to have ever played the sport, as well as one of the most famous people to have ever come out of Argentina.
Following his death, the then-President of Argentina, Alberto Fernandez, declared three days of national mourning.
