Doctor in court over the death of football icon Maradona
According to Almudena Calatrava’s Associated Press report on the opening of the case, seven healthcare professionals were put on trial over Maradona’s death after he suffered a cardiac arrest on November 25, 2020, at a house outside Buenos Aires. He was 60 and had been recovering from surgery for a blood clot on his brain. Prosecutors say the care he received at home was inadequate and poorly supervised.
Luque denies wrongdoing
According to the Reuters report on Leopoldo Luque’s testimony, Luque told the court he was innocent and said he deeply regretted Maradona’s death. He also rejected the claim that Maradona had been left in pain for 12 hours before he died, saying he would have gone to help at any time if he had been called.
According to EFE’s report on Luque’s defense, he argued that he was not the doctor in charge of Maradona’s overall treatment. His defense is trying to draw a clear line between the brain surgery he handled and the day to day medical care Maradona later received at home.
Why the case carries so much weight
Maradona is still one of the most powerful figures in Argentine public life. For many fans, he is not only the captain who led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title, but also a national symbol whose brilliance and decline both played out in full view. That is one reason the trial has drawn such intense attention from supporters, the press and Maradona’s family.
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The case is also about more than one doctor. The court is examining whether a wider group of professionals, including a psychiatrist, psychologist, nursing staff and medical coordinators, failed to respond properly as Maradona’s condition worsened. If convicted, the defendants could face prison sentences of up to 25 years.
How the retrial is taking shape
According to the Associated Press report on the retrial’s resumption in April 2026, the proceedings restarted after an earlier trial collapsed when a presiding judge stepped down amid controversy over her appearance in a documentary connected to the case. Seven defendants are now back on trial, while an eighth nurse is set to be tried separately.
That background matters because Luque’s statement of innocence is now being heard in a case that has already been delayed, disputed and watched closely across Argentina. What the judges decide will shape not only the legal record of Maradona’s final days, but also the public argument over whether one of football’s greatest players was let down when he was most vulnerable.
Sources: Reuters, Associated Press, EFE.
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