The Argentine Court declares the null trial in the death of the legend of football Diego Maradona

An Argentine court on Thursday declared a null trial in the case of seven health professionals accused of negligence in the death of the football legend Diego Maradonathe last soap operating turn at the trial that has transferred the world of football.

The judges ruled that there would be a new trial, without specifying when.

The pivot occurs after one of the three judges that supervises the trial resigned from criticism about his participation in an upcoming documentary series on the case, “Divine Justice”, which he covered from the sequels of Maradona’s death, as they began to emerge scandals and suspicions of dirty game, until the beginning of the trial.

When calling the judge, Julieta Makintach, to be challenged, the prosecutor presented on Tuesday the trailer of his documentary: a teaser of a minute and a half that exchanges Maradona archive images by scoring iconic objectives with targets of Makintach shots that stay through the corridors of the Buenos Aires runners in high tishes and a brief skirt as a brief suspicion.

The prosecutor asked the judges to investigate the accusations that Makintach had violated judicial ethics by allowing a camera crew within the court to film their closed doors for the television style series.

When the statements became a national scandal, Makintach said Tuesday that “he had no choice” to give up the case.

The judges decided on Thursday to try again, effectively returning the clock in all procedures since March 11, when the trial began in the middle of an intense scrutiny of the media and called dozens of anguished witnesses to testify more than 21 hearings.

“Judge Makintach did not act impartially. His conduct caused damage to both the plaintiffs and the defense,” said Judge Maximiliano Savarino by declaring the null trial. “The only responsible person is the challenged judge.”

He added: “This is an unpleasant decision.”

In court, two of the daughters of the football star, Gianinna and Dalma Maradona, began to cry.

The decision showed doubts in the timeline of the trial, which was initially expected to last until July. Thursday’s ruling said that a superior court would select the three new judges by lottery “within a reasonable period of time.”

The case accuses Maradona’s medical team of not providing adequate care for the football star in weeks prior to his sudden death on November 25, 2020. Maradona died at 60 years of cardiac arrest while recovering from surgery for a blood clot in the brain in a rented house outside Buenos Aires.

Although the case depends largely on medical technicalities, biweekly testimonies have also become sensationalist fodder, as much in Maradona’s life, which included long species of drug and alcohol abuse.

Experts have taken the position to claim that Maradona agonized for 12 hours before his death, while his sisters and daughters have accused his doctors of leaving him alone in misery when he should have been hospitalized.

The defendants, who deny all the accusations, were accused of guilty homicide, a crime similar to involuntary homicide in the sense that the defendant was aware of the risk caused by his reckless behavior and ignored it.

They include Leopold Luque, Maradona’s main doctor at the time of his death, as well as his psychologist, psychiatrist, medical coordinator and nurses.

The crime involves a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. The defendants say that Maradona was a difficult patient who did not allow himself to be treated.

Maradona, who led Argentina to victory in the 1986 World Cup, is considered one of the best football of all time. His history of rags to wealth resonated with his Argentine companions and is widely revered as a national hero.

Maradona played in four world cups of FIFA during his career with Argentina, which led the team to win the 1986 World Cup title against Western Germany. He also trained the national team during the 2010 tournament.

One of Maradona’s most emblematic moments as a player was during the 1986 championship race in Mexico City. Maradona scored a goal in a quarterfinal match against England by slightly using his fist, out of the referees’ opinion. Described the goal as “The hand of God.”

• Buenos Aires
• Diego Maradona
• Sports
• Homicide
• Rehearsal
• Argentina