Court to rule on future of Maradona caregivers’ trial

An Argentine court is set to rule Thursday on how to proceed with the trial of late football legend Diego Maradona’s medical team after a judge stepped down over her role in an unauthorized documentary about the case.

The prosecution, the complainants and most of the defense lawyers have asked for a new panel of judges to be appointed and the trial, which they consider tainted, restarted. 

Julieta Makintach, one of three judges in the trial that opened in March, recused herself on Tuesday after it emerged she had been interviewed for a miniseries about the case, potentially breaking a string of ethics rules. 

Maradona died in November 2020 aged 60 while recovering from brain surgery. 

His seven-person medical team is on trial over the conditions of his home convalescence after major surgery, described by prosecutors as grossly negligent. 

If the trial is reset, the 20 hearings in which more than 40 witnesses have testified to date will be nullified. 

“We need to have a new trial. Sometimes you have to take a step back to be able to take two forward,” Patricio Ferrari, one of the prosecutors in the case, said Wednesday.

“When a new court is formed with three capable judges, which is what we are requesting, we want to restart the trial this year and finally reach a verdict,” he told Radio La Red.

The two remaining judges have scheduled a hearing for Thursday, where they are expected to announce their decision on how to proceed.

Maradona’s medical team face prison terms of between eight and 25 years if convicted of homicide with possible intent — pursuing a course of action despite knowing it could lead to death.