A retrial into the death of the football great Diego Maradona, who died aged 60 after suffering heart failure, starts on Tuesday.
The first trial in May 2025 collapsed after one of the three judges on the case allegedly allowed unauthorized filming in court for a documentary.
Maradona's medical team are accused of failing to administer proper medical care, and seven people will be tried for homicide with possible intent. They deny the allegations. If convicted, they face between eight and 25 years in prison.
The football legend had been recovering at his home in Tigre, in Buenos Aires province, after successful surgery on a brain blood clot earlier that month.
Investigators classified the case as culpable homicide, a crime similar to involuntary manslaughter, because they said the accused were aware of the seriousness of Maradona's health condition but did not take the necessary measures to save him.
The heart failure caused him to suffer acute pulmonary edema, confirmed by the preliminary autopsy.
A panel of medical experts, asked by prosecutors to investigate Maradona's medical team, said the treatment he received at his home was deficient and reckless. It concluded that the footballer would have had a better chance of survival with adequate treatment in an appropriate medical facility.
The seven people on trial include his main medical adviser, Leopoldo Luque, and his psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov. His former nurse, Dahiana Gisela Madrid, will stand in a separate trial.
Around 100 people are set to testify in front of a new set of judges at a court in San Isidro, including Maradona's daughters. The trial is expected to last until July.
When the footballer died on November 25, 2020, then President of Argentina Alberto Fernandez declared three days of national mourning. He remarked, Thank you for having existed, Diego. We're going to miss you all our lives.
Maradona started his career with Argentinos Juniors before representing Argentina in four World Cups, scoring 34 goals, including the infamous Hand of God goal against England in 1986. However, during the second half of his career, he struggled with cocaine addiction and faced a 15-month ban after testing positive in 1991.
He retired from professional football in 1997, during his second stint at Boca Juniors, and was appointed head coach of the national team in 2008, leaving after the 2010 World Cup. His death occurred while managing Gimnasia y Esgrima.
