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Football

14th Apr 2022

Prosecutors demand Diego Maradona medical staff face trial

Callum Boyle

Maradona died in 2020

The prosecutors investigating the death of Diego Maradona in 2020 have called for the medical staff who treated him to go on trial.

Maradona died aged 60 in 2020 after recovery from brain surgery as a result of a blood clot and years spent battling a cocaine and alcohol addiction.

Prosecutors have urged for eight of the medical staff members to go on trial

Diego Maradona trial

Prosecutors made the request on Wednesday and said that “omissions” and mismanagement by eight medical professionals in charge of Maradona placed him in a “situation of helplessness,” as reported by France 24.

The Maradona family doctor and neurosurgeon, Leopoldo Luque, as well as psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov are both under investigation for the Argentine footballing legend’s death – given that they were the main people responsible for his health.

Six others have also been deemed responsible for the death and prosecutors are accusing them of “simple homicide with dolus eventualis,” – an offence where someone is negligent whilst knowing their neglegence could lead to someone’s death. This could lead to them facing anywhere between eight to 25 years in prison.

They also added that the defendants “were the protagonists of an unprecedented, totally deficient and reckless hospitalisation at home”, and also allegedly committed a “series of improvisations, mismanagement and shortcomings.”

The defendants will now be given a chance to put forward their arguments and could allow for the case to be dismissed.

As part of the initial investigation, a court authorised a search of the properties of Maradona’s personal doctor.

Maradona’s lawyer, Matias Moria, also requested at the time a full investigation.

“The ambulance took more than half an hour to arrive, which was a criminal idiocy,” Matias said in a Twitter post.”

A shirt worn by Maradona during the second half of Argentina’s 1986 World Cup win against England in which he scored two goals, including the famous ‘Hand of God’ incident, for over €4m.

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