Maradona medical team trial continues amid tense courtroom scenes

The trial of seven medical workers accused of negligence over Diego Maradona's death has continued for months in Argentina, with no clear end date after more than 25 hearings and nearly 70 statements from witnesses and defendants.

The proceedings began in April over allegations that the medical workers contributed to the footballer's death in 2020. Maradona died of heart failure and acute pulmonary edema two weeks after surgery. The defendants deny wrongdoing and say he died of natural causes.

Maradona's personal doctor Leopoldo Luque, described in the report as the main accused because many viewed him as being in charge at the time, has attended every hearing and has repeatedly intervened when he believes a statement implicates him. He has played audio recordings, presented scientific papers and pointed to what he says are contradictions. During one hearing, his team showed autopsy footage, after which one of Maradona's daughters shouted at him and left the room in tears. The hearing was suspended. Luque said he had not realized she was present, while Maradona's family said they did not believe him.

The proceedings have also been marked by arguments between lawyers. Judge Alberto Gaig said during one heated exchange that it was impossible to stop them like children all the time. Fernando Burlando, the lawyer for Maradona's daughters, and Francisco Oneto, a lawyer for the defendants, have exchanged insults in and outside the courtroom. One hearing was suspended after their bickering.

Some lawyers have tried to ease tension by bringing food, including Argentine alfajores and Paraguayan cheese rolls. A two-by-one-meter model of the house where Maradona died in Tigre, north of Buenos Aires, has also become a central courtroom object, with witnesses using it to point to parts of the building.

The case is a retake of an earlier trial that should have been completed last year. That first version was thrown out after it emerged that one presiding judge, Julieta Makintach, was secretly taking part in a documentary about the case.