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Maradona Death Trial Verdict Set for December

Does evidence indicate a preventable death caused by neglect or flawed findings turning caregivers into scapegoats?

9 hours ago·Updated 1 hour ago

Maradona Death Trial Verdict Set for December

Story

Above: Tributes left to Diego Maradona outside the San Isidro Court in Buenos Aires on Oct. 22. Image credit: Sebastian Hipperdinger/Europa Press/Getty Images

The Facts

An Argentine court announced on Thursday that the verdict in the trial over soccer great Diego Maradona's 2020 death will be read on Dec. 22 at noon local time, as the three-judge panel entered the deliberation phase after more than six months of hearings.
Al Jazeera
Infobae
LA NACION
Six defendants await the outcome: neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, psychologist Carlos Díaz, care coordinator Nancy Forlini, nurse Ricardo Almirón and nursing chief Mariano Perroni. If convicted, they face prison sentences ranging from four to 12 years.
Buenos Aires Times
Diario Olé
XINHUA
A seventh defendant, clinical doctor Pedro Di Spagna, was acquitted after prosecutors and lawyers for Maradona's family dropped the charges against him, saying his role was limited to acting as a consulting physician in Maradona's home care.
Crónica
Diario Olé
Perfil
Lawyers for Luque, for whom prosecutors have sought the heaviest sentence, said in closing arguments on Wednesday that their client was made a "scapegoat" in a death that resulted from an "acute and unpredictable" heart attack.
A24.com
Al Jazeera
Buenos Aires Times
Maradona's daughters took the stand on Thursday, rejecting the claim that Luque was not their father's primary doctor and arguing that the late soccer legend deserves justice like any other person.
Página 12
La Derecha Diario
Todo Noticias
This proceeding is the second trial over the death of Maradona at age 60, after the first, which began March 11, 2025, was annulled when it emerged that judge Julieta Makintach was taking part in a documentary about the case.
Telesur on Facebook
LA NACION
XINHUA

Sources Split

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CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Evidence indicates that a 60-year-old man with serious medical complexity was left in a home without the basics needed to keep him safe. Accountability matters most when a patient is vulnerable and the people in charge know it. A preventable death like the one of Maradona deserves real consequences, not a shrug about how complicated the case was.

La Gazzetta dello Sport

Narrative B

This case leans on a medical board report riddled with errors, including test results that belonged to Maradona's father. Convicting health care workers calls for proof of intent and a clear chain of responsibility, not grief over a national legend. Justice shouldn't turn professionals into scapegoats just because the outcome was tragic for the whole country.