Judges overseeing the trial of the medical team linked to the late Argentine football legend Diego Maradona’s death on Wednesday rejected the defense’s request to recuse two panel members.
The initial trial, launched after Maradona’s 2020 death, collapsed in May when it was revealed that one judge had secretly participated in a documentary about the case.
In July, a new three-judge panel was appointed to restart the proceedings.
Lawyers for Maradona’s personal physician, Leopoldo Luque, one of seven people charged with culpable homicide over the star’s death, had asked for two judges to be removed from the case, saying they feared the judges “would not be impartial.”
The judges rejected the request, calling it based on “conjecture” and “speculation.”
No date has been set for the new trial.
Maradona, considered one of the world’s greatest players, died in November 2020 at age 60 while recovering from brain surgery.
He died of heart failure and acute pulmonary edema, a condition where fluid accumulates in the lungs, two weeks after surgery.
His medical team was put on trial over the conditions of his home convalescence, which prosecutors described as grossly negligent.
They face prison terms of between eight and 25 years if convicted of “homicide with possible intent,” for pursuing a course of action despite knowing it could lead to his death.
