Argentine prosecutors on Tuesday opened a second trial over Diego Maradona’s death by branding his medical team a "bunch of amateurs" who they say missed a crucial chance to save the football legend’s life.
Maradona, considered one of the world's greatest footballers, died in November 2020 at the age of 60 while recovering from surgery for a brain clot.
His seven-strong medical team is accused of gross negligence, causing his death during his home convalescence.
The first trial was sensationally annulled last year after two-and-a-half months of hearings following revelations that one of the judges took part in a clandestine documentary about the case.
Prosecutor Patricio Ferrari rounded on the accused at the start of the new trial Tuesday.
He said Maradona was cared for by a "bunch of amateurs" who committed "all kinds of omissions," resulting in conditions he described as "cruel."
"Diego Maradona began to die 12 hours before his actual death. Anyone who thought to transfer him to a clinic in a car or ambulance during his last week would have saved his life," Ferrari added.
Maradona died of heart failure and acute pulmonary edema – a condition where fluid accumulates in the lungs – two weeks after going under the knife.
The larger-than-life former Boca Juniors and Napoli striker, who captained Argentina to World Cup victory in 1986, had a history of cocaine and alcohol abuse.
Maradona's daughters, Dalma, Gianinna, and Jana, as well as his former partner Veronica Ojeda, were present in the packed courtroom in the northern Buenos Aires suburb of San Isidro for the start of the proceedings.
Ojeda told reporters that she trusted in the judiciary to see that justice was served.
"That's what we all need: justice for Diego. We want to live in peace and for Diego to rest in peace," she said.
Outside the courthouse, about 50 people carrying Argentine flags and signs demanded justice for "D10s" – a play on Maradona's No. 10 jersey and "dios," the Spanish word for God.
The new trial, which will run until July at the earliest, will hear from some 120 witnesses.
The defendants – doctors, psychologists and nurses – are accused of homicide with possible intent by pursuing a course of action despite knowing it could lead to death, over decisions they made regarding Maradona's care.
That includes the decision to allow him to convalesce at home instead of in a hospital.
They risk prison terms of between eight and 25 years if convicted.
Dalma and Gianinna Maradona's lawyer, Fernando Burlando, displayed a stethoscope as a symbol of what he described as the medics' negligence.
"This small instrument, so important to medicine, was never placed on Maradona's chest between Nov. 11 and 25 (the two weeks before his death)," he said.
The accused argue that the hard-living Maradona died of natural causes.
"The defense will prove that, unfortunately, Mr. Maradona's death is due to a progressive decline in his health that at a certain point reached its limit," Vadim Mischanchuk, representing psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, stated.
The passing of the man, who was revered for his preternatural talent and charisma, plunged Argentina into mourning in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tens of thousands of people queued to bid farewell to him as his body lay in state at the presidential palace.
