Decide Julieta Makintach arrives at court docket for a listening to within the trial of well being professionals accused of negligence within the dying of soccer star Diego Maradona, in San Isidro, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, Could 27, 2025.
Gustavo Garello/AP
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Gustavo Garello/AP
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — An Argentine court docket on Thursday declared a mistrial within the case of seven well being professionals accused of negligence within the dying of soccer legend Diego Maradona, the newest soap-operatic flip within the trial that has transfixed the soccer world.
The judges dominated there could be a brand new trial, with out specifying when.
The pivot comes after one of many three judges overseeing the trial stepped down over criticism surrounding her participation in a forthcoming documentary sequence in regards to the case, “Divine Justice,” which spanned from the aftermath of Maradona’s dying, as scandals and suspicions of foul play started to emerge, to the beginning of the trial.
In calling for the decide, Julieta Makintach, to be recused, the prosecutor on Tuesday offered the trailer for her documentary — a one-and-a-half-minute teaser that intercuts archival footage of Maradona scoring iconic targets with pictures of Makintach strutting by means of the corridors of the Buenos Aires courthouse in excessive heels and a brief skirt as a string soundtrack heightens suspense.
The prosecutor requested judges to research allegations that Makintach had violated judicial ethics in permitting a digicam crew contained in the courthouse to movie her overseeing closed-door hearings for the fact TV-style sequence.
Because the claims snowballed right into a nationwide scandal, Makintach on Tuesday mentioned that she had “no alternative” however to resign from the case.
The judges selected Thursday to retry the whole case, successfully turning the clock again on all proceedings since March 11, when the trial started amid intense media scrutiny and known as dozens of distraught witnesses to testify over 21 hearings.
“Decide Makintach didn’t act impartially. Her conduct triggered hurt to each the plaintiffs and the protection,” Decide Maximiliano Savarino mentioned in declaring the mistrial. “The one particular person accountable is the recused decide.”
He added: “That is an disagreeable choice.”
On the courthouse, two of the soccer star’s daughters, Gianinna and Dalma Maradona, started to weep.
The choice threw into doubt the timeline of the trial, which was initially anticipated to final till July. Thursday’s ruling mentioned {that a} increased court docket would choose the three new judges by lottery “inside an affordable time period.”
The case accuses Maradona’s medical workforce of failing to offer sufficient take care of the soccer star in weeks main as much as his sudden dying on November 25, 2020. Maradona died at age 60 from cardiac arrest whereas recovering from surgical procedure for a blood clot on the mind at a rented house outdoors Buenos Aires.
Though the case largely hinges on medical technicalities, the biweekly testimonies have additionally turn into tabloid fodder — like a lot in Maradona’s life, which included lengthy spates of drug and alcohol abuse.
Consultants have taken the stand to allege that Maradona agonized for 12 hours earlier than his dying whereas his sisters and daughters have tearfully accused his medics of leaving him alone in squalor when he ought to have been hospitalized.
The defendants, who deny all accusations, had been charged with culpable murder, a criminal offense much like involuntary manslaughter in that it implies the accused had been conscious of the chance brought on by their reckless conduct and ignored it.
They embody Leopoldo Luque, Maradona’s main doctor on the time of his dying, in addition to his psychologist, psychiatrist, medical coordinator and nurses.
The crime carries a most penalty of 25 years in jail. The defendants say Maradona was a troublesome affected person who didn’t permit himself to be handled.
Maradona, who famously led Argentina to victory within the 1986 World Cup, is considered one of many biggest soccer gamers of all time. His rags-to-riches story resonated along with his fellow Argentines and he’s extensively revered as a nationwide hero.
