An Argentinian neurosurgeon and six other medical professionals have gone on trial in Buenos Aires over the death of the legendary footballer Diego Maradona.
Ardent admirers of the World Cup-winning star, who died in November 2020 aged 60, gathered outside the courtroom to demand punishment for the people they blame for Maradona’s premature death.
Protesters shouted “Murderer! Murderer!” as one of the seven defendants entered the building on Tuesday morning with her lawyer at the start of what is expected to be an emotionally charged four-month trial. Other demonstrators carried posters that called for “Justice for God!”
As he arrived for the opening session, Fernando Burlando, a lawyer representing Maradona’s daughters, told journalists the court would hear evidence that would make it “shudder”. “The most important thing is to understand that they killed Diego … What they did was a murder,” Burlando said.
Maradona was found dead at his home near the Argentinian capital on 25 November 2020 having suffered a heart attack while he recovered from surgery he had undergone earlier that month to treat bleeding around the brain.
The death of the footballer, considered a national treasure in Argentina, prompted a massive outpouring of grief. Thousands flocked to the Casa Rosada presidential palace to attend the wake of a player who was famed for his sporting genius and a 1986 “hand of God” goal against England but spent decades battling cocaine and alcohol addiction. “Olé, olé olé olé, Die-go, Die-go!” mourners chanted as they stood in line.
Celebration of Maradona’s life and achievements quickly turned to anger, recriminations and claims that medical negligence may have played a role in his death.
Prosecutors accused Maradona’s eight-member medical team – seven of whom are going on trial this week – of failing to provide adequate care that might have kept him alive as he recovered from surgery.
They claim those medics pushed for Maradona to receive home care, a decision that proved “reckless” and “totally deficient”. Prosecutors allege the footballer was abandoned to his fate for a “prolonged, agonising period” before his death.
The defendants, who include the neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luciano Luque, 44, and the 36-year-old psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov – have all denied the charges. Vadim Mischanchuk, a lawyer for Cosachov, said he was “very optimistic” of an acquittal, arguing his client was in charge of Maradona’s mental, not physical health.
Mario Baudry, a lawyer for Maradona’s ex-wife, Verónica Ojeda, said of Luque and Cosachov: “The main responsibility is theirs.”
Each defendant could face between eight and 25 years in prison if convicted of “homicide with possible intent”, allegedly for pursuing a course of action despite knowing it could lead to the footballer’s death.
More than 100 witnesses, including members of Maradona’s family and doctors who tended to him over the years, are expected to take the stand in the long-delayed trial, which has revived painful memories of the player’s demise.
In La Paternal neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, where the player nicknamed “El Pibe de Oro” (the Golden Boy) revealed his prodigious talent as a player for Argentinos Juniors in the 1970s, graffiti urging “Justice for Diego!” was daubed on walls before the trial.
“All society needs to know … what really happened, who abandoned him … and whoever is responsible must pay the price,” Hilda Pereira, a pensioner, said. Maradona “did not deserve to die as he died, alone”, she added.