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 unauthorised 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 oedema, as confirmed by the preliminary autopsy.
A panel of medical experts, asked by prosecutors to investigate Maradona's medical team, deemed the treatment he received at home "deficient and reckless," concluding that he would have had a better chance of survival with proper treatment in a medical facility.
The seven individuals on trial include Maradona's primary medical adviser, Leopoldo Luque, and his psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov. His former nurse, Dahiana Gisela Madrid, will face a separate trial.
Around 100 witnesses, including Maradona's daughters, are expected to testify in front of a new set of judges at a court in San Isidro. The trial is slated to run until July.
When Maradona passed away on November 25, 2020, Argentine President Alberto Fernandez declared three days of national mourning, expressing, Thank you for having existed, Diego. We're going to miss you all our lives..
Maradona began his career with Argentinos Juniors and represented Argentina in four World Cups, scoring 34 goals, including the infamous Hand of God goal against England in 1986. He faced challenges later in his career, including struggles with addiction, before retiring in 1997.
At the time of his death, Maradona was managing Gimnasia y Esgrima in Argentina.
