Argentine court declares mistrial in Diego Maradona death probe after judge steps down

An Argentinian court stated a mistrium on Thursday in the case around seven health workers accused of negligence in the death of Diego Maradona, one of the greatest players in the history of football and a national hero in Argentina. One of the three judges who supervise the case, judge Julieta Makintach, stepped off because of the criticism of her participation in a documentary describing the case.

Makintach withdrew from the case on Tuesday After controversy, about her place as the main character in ‘Divine Justice’, a documentary about everything from the immediate aftermath of the death of Maradona in 2020 until the start of the trial. The documentary and the participation of Makintach in the process of a trial a suspension of a week after Patricio Ferrari officer asked San Isidro Court to revise the alleged role of Makintach to have it filmed during the process.

The Mistrial restarts the business and makes all procedures that took place from 11 March made invalid. A higher court will select three new judges per lottery, with a date for the new process to be determined.

The case revolves around seven members of the medical team who had dealt with Maradona. They are accused of not providing sufficient care for the 1986 World Cup champion before his death in November 2020, when he suffered a cardiac arrest while recovering from surgery for a blood clot in his brain. The defendants are Leopoldo Luque, the primary doctor of Maradona, as well as his psychologist, psychiatrist, medical coordinator and nurses. The defendants have denied the charges of negligence and claim that Maradona was a difficult patient and rejected the treatment.

Maradona played in four FIFA World Cups during his career and led the famous Argentina famous after the World Cup title 1986 above West Germany. His heroism in a quarter -final victory over England earned him the legendary status, both in his home country and worldwide. Maradona, who was 60 at the time of his death, is universally considered one of the greatest football players of all time.