Diego Maradona was not only a legend in football but also in his home country of Argentina. He was widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. He was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the 20th Century award, alongside Brazilian, Pelé.
The world went into mourning on 25 November. On 2 November 2020, Maradona was admitted to a hospital in La Plata, supposedly for psychological reasons. A representative of the ex-footballer said his condition was not serious. A day later, he underwent emergency brain surgery to treat a subdural hematoma.
He was released on 12 November after successful surgery and was supervised by doctors as an outpatient. On 25 November, at the age of 60, Maradona suffered cardiac arrest and died in his sleep at his home in Dique Luján, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Maradona's coffin – draped in Argentina's national flag and three Maradona number 10 shirts (Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors and Argentina) – lay in state at the Presidential Palace, the Casa Rosada, with mourners filing past his coffin.
On 26 November, Maradona's wake, which was attended by tens of thousands of people, was cut short by his family as his coffin was relocated from the rotunda of the Presidential Palace after fans took over an inner courtyard and also clashed with police. The same day, a private funeral service was held and Maradona was buried next to his parents at the Jardín de Bella Vista cemetery in Bella Vista, Buenos Aires.
Football songs were heard at the courthouse from Argentine supporters, who wore national team jerseys with the number 10 on their backs. Like in the days of great epics, fans chanted the surname "Maradona," but this time, the tears that flowed from their eyes were not of joy but of sorrow.
In this atmosphere, the trial for the death of Diego Armando Maradona began on Tuesday, after two suspensions and more than four years since his passing. The process seeks to determine whether a medical team composed of seven people is responsible for his death, which occurred on 25 November 2020, due to cardiac arrest.
Maradona died during home hospitalisation in the private neighbourhood of San Andrés, in the town of Tigre, 14 days after undergoing surgery for a subdural hematoma. The prosecutors in the case seek to prove that there was malpractice during his home hospitalisation and that the medical team responsible for his care acted recklessly and negligently.
With flags reading "Justice for D10S," Maradona’s followers gathered on the sidewalk outside the court, waiting for the first day of a trial expected to last more than three months, with seven defendants charged with simple homicide with eventual intent. An eighth defendant will be tried at the conclusion of this process in a jury trial. The offense carries penalties of between 8 and 25 years in prison.
It's expected that during the first hearings, the charges against the seven defendants will be read, after which the arguments from each party prior to the actual trial will take place, taking about three days.
Among the accused are: neurosurgeon, Leopoldo Luque, who was the personal doctor to the former football player in his last years of life and Cosachov, who was Maradona’s psychiatrist. Their attorneys have said that their clients plead not guilty to all charges.
Others charged include: Carlos Díaz, a psychoanalyst dedicated to addiction treatment; clinical physician, Pedro Di Spagna; the coordinator of the contracted medical provider, Nancy Forlini and Mariano Perroni, also a coordinator.
Then, witnesses will begin to testify, of which more than 100 remain from a list of 300, Vadim Mischanchuk, attorney for Agustina Cosachov, one of the accused, said. The trial is expected to extend until July.
The plaintiffs in the case are the five children of the Argentine legend: Dalma; Giannina; Jana; Diego; and Diego Fernando Maradona. Upon their arrival at the courthouse, Mario Baudry, attorney for Diego Fernando, stated that there is, "more than enough evidence to prove that Diego was not treated properly."
As each defendant arrived, some of the people who came to support Napoli’s idol and his family, shouted, "murderer" amid aggressive scenes with screams and cries.
"I hope the judges are tough on this because they let him die," said Sergio, one of the fans present, who approached with a replica World Cup trophy in his arms to ask for justice on his birthday. "I have to be here," he stated.
Verónica Ojeda, mother of Diego Fernando and former partner of Maradona, thanked the people who gathered at the courthouse, approaching those who sang for the 1986 FIFA World Cup champion and giving them football jerseys.
For their part, Dalma and Giannina Maradona, the eldest daughters of the former footballer, along with their sister Jana, attended but didn't make any statements. Fernando Burlando, a lawyer for the daughters, said he and his clients hope to get answers for the trial against the people accused of Maradona’s death.
Minutes before the start of the trial, Ojeda shared a video on social media of Maradona's son Diego Fernando wearing a T-shirt with the face of the football star and the word, "justice."
As if the judges' first words were the starting whistle and imitating the prelude of an important match, supporters gathered outside the court began to sing the Argentine anthem before the trial began.
With flags and a World Cup, the verses were sung as the arguments started. "The home hospitalisation was calamitous," began prosecutor Ferrari, who added that the seven accused failed to meet all their duties.
With Dalma, Gianina, Jana and Verónica Ojeda listening and seated in the same row, Ferrari took a photo from his desk and displayed it before the judges. "This is how Maradona died; the state was eloquent," said the prosecutor as he showed an image of Maradona’s body on the bed.
Prosecutors have claimed football legend Diego Maradona was 'murdered' and died in a 'theatre of horror' as a trial began in Argentina of the medical team responsible for his care. His family alleged negligence, a cover-up, and derogatory comments from the medical team who oversaw his care - calling it a 'mafia'.
Maradona had struggled with drug addiction, obesity and alcoholism for decades and reportedly came close to death in 2000 and 2004. However, prosecutors suspect that - were it not for the negligence of his doctors - his death could have been avoided.
Prosecutor, Patricio Ferrari, showed an image of Maradona at the time of his death to the court on the first day of the trial, which showed the football legend with his abdomen completely swollen. "Look, this is how Maradona died," Ferrari told the court, as reported by Argentine newspaper, Ole.
"Whoever tells you, the judges, that they did not notice what was happening to Diego is lying to your face." Ferrari added outside the court: "The whole gang was only interested in completing records and forms to prove they had done what they weren't doing."
"The medical team treating him, as well as those responsible for this failed and reckless hospitalisation, must be held jointly responsible for the death of Diego Maradona."
Maradona had died at his home two weeks after undergoing brain surgery, with the speed of his discharge from hospital having been questioned. Fernando Burlando, a lawyer representing Maradona's daughters, declared that the football legend had been 'murdered' and claimed the football legend would have survived had he remained in hospital.
"It was a reckless, deficient, unprecedented home hospitalisation," Burlando said. "There was no type of control in that home, no type of protocol in a theater of horror that was that house where Diego Armando Maradona died, where nobody did what they had to do."
A model of the house Maradona died in was shown to the court. Seven of the eight medical professionals who have been charged in the case, including Maradona's brain surgeon, psychiatrist and nurses, are now standing trial for culpable homicide, a crime which roughly equates to involuntary manslaughter.
They deny wrongdoing but could face up to 25 years in prison. Leopoldo Luque, who served as Maradona's personal doctor for years, performed the surgery that removed his brain blood clot on 3 November 2020.
Luque oversaw Maradona's hospital-to-home transition after the surgery. The swift discharge raised questions at the time, with some experts suggesting that Maradona should have stayed longer in the hospital after his operation.
A lawyer defending Luque claimed the footballer had insisted on being released from hospital. "The death occurred unexpectedly, suddenly, during sleeping hours, without offering us any time," the lawyer stated.
Luque's lawyer said Maradona had died following an 'unforeseeable' cardiac event. Psychiatrist, Agustina Cosachov, is also among the medical team on trial, after prescribing Maradona's medications.
There was no alcohol or illegal drugs detected in the toxicology test performed after Maradona's death. But the report said Maradona had psychotropic drugs for anxiety and depression in his system when he died.
A lawyer representing Cosachov said, "new evidence proves that there is no criminal responsibility" for Maradona's death.
The prosecutor's office had assembled a medical board made up of a dozen experts - including forensic doctors, cardiologists, psychiatrists and toxicologists - to see if there was evidence of Maradona's medics committing culpable homicide.
In an explosive 2021 report, the board accused the former football star's medical team of acting in an, "inappropriate, deficient and reckless manner."
The experts also questioned why Maradona had been released so soon from the hospital after his operation when he was unable to care for himself and had limited or no access to critical medical devices, like an oxygen tube and a defibrillator, which administers an electric shock to restore heart rhythm.
Last year, a medical report by medical examiner, Pablo Ferrari, claimed Maradona's rapid and erratic heartbeat was either of natural origin or stemmed from an 'external' factor, possibly a drug like cocaine.
Maradona had battled alcohol and drug addiction for many years and had undergone brain surgery in November 2020.
Maradona won the World Cup with Argentina in 1986, having knocked England out in the quarter final with the infamous 'Hand of God' goal and another - later voted 'Goal of the Century.'
Renowned for his breathtaking playing ability, Maradona's wild life off the pitch was equally notorious; running around with the mafia in Naples, serial womanising and a lethal dependency on alcohol and cocaine.
Argentina went into three days of mourning in which his body was lying in state at the Casa Rosada, the presidential palace in Buenos Aires.
It's amazing to see just how far one is willing to go to find those who are guilty to be held accountable. To me, it kind of looks like an open and shut case. The evidence for the prosecution seems overwhelming. If I were an Argentine, I would probably join the fan party of support. It's never easy to see a national hero pass away. It can be hard to imagine and grasp at the very concept.
A possible conviction might bring harmony and an peace of mind to those who want justice for the former footballer.