Today, Thursday (October 8, 2026), the prosecution demanded prison sentences of up to 12 years against the medical staff who supervised the treatment of Argentine football legend Diego Maradona, accusing him of “chaotic organization” that led to the star abandoning “his fate.”
Seven members of the medical staff have been on trial since last April in connection with the death of Maradona on November 25, 2020, during his recovery period after undergoing surgery to remove a blood clot from the brain.
The 1986 World Cup star died of heart failure and acute pulmonary edema, a condition in which fluid accumulates inside the lungs, in a rented house in the suburb of Tigre, north of Buenos Aires, two weeks after undergoing surgery. The star, who suffered from a history of drug abuse, was 60 years old when he died.
Heavy accusations
Members of his medical staff, including his primary physician, psychiatrist, psychologist and nurses, are accused of providing grossly inadequate medical care during the period leading up to his death, while the defendants deny the charges against them.
In his closing argument, prosecutor Patricio Ferrai said that the "chaotic organization" of the defendants left the patient "in a state of helplessness, and they abandoned him to his fate." He accused them of "violating their duties and taking actions that contradict the principles of the medical profession," as well as "refraining from taking all the measures they should have taken."
The defendants face a charge of “probable intent,” a legal term that means a person realizes that his or her actions might lead to harm, but continues with them nonetheless.
The prosecution demanded the maximum penalty, which is 12 years in prison, for Maradona's private doctor, Leopoldo Luque. He also called for sentences ranging from 4 to 10 years against other members of the medical staff, including a psychiatrist, nurses, and coordinators.
Health workers argued that Maradona's death was not something that could be expected, and that they performed their duties as required. Each defendant also diminished his individual responsibility for Maradona's care.
Absence of a defibrillator
The case revolved around whether the doctors' decision to allow Maradona to spend his recovery period in a private home, instead of the hospital, involved negligence.
The prosecution also pointed to the almost complete absence of medical equipment, such as a hospital bed, a defibrillator, and an ambulance that could be called quickly, as evidence of what it described as the defendants’ negligence in performing their duties.
A number of medical experts testified, confirming that caregivers did not deal with major warning indicators in Maradona's case, as he was suffering from edema, rapid heartbeat, and difficulty breathing, during the period preceding his death.
“The death of Diego Armando Maradona clearly did not come out of nowhere, as signs of this fatal end began to appear long before that,” Assistant Public Prosecutor Cosme Iribarin said, summarizing the prosecution’s case on Thursday.
The prosecution re-displayed shocking pictures to the court of the former player, where he was lying dead on the bed, and his stomach appeared to be greatly swollen.
Maradona's three daughters, who attended Thursday's session to begin the closing arguments, covered their faces to avoid seeing the pictures. The closing arguments are expected to last about two weeks, with the ruling to be issued at a later date.
