Doctors face charges over Maradona's death

Members of the medical team that oversaw the care of soccer legend Diego Maradona at the time of his death now face criminal charges for homicide.

Prosecutors in Argentina are moving forward with criminal charges in relation to the death of Maradona, 69, which happened on Nov 25.

A seven-member medical team was accused of contributing to the death blamed on heart failure two weeks after Maradona underwent brain surgery.

Pre-trial hearings began on June 14. If convicted of intentional homicide, the medical team members could face prison terms of up to 25 years.

"The process at the courts can take between three and four years," said Mariana Barbitta, a criminal lawyer and professor of criminal law at the University of Buenos Aires. "The Maradona case is a very complex one, with a lot of parties involved and several people being charged. It is likely to have an extended and long trial here."

Barbitta though questioned the validity of the homicide charges. She is the president of the Association of Women Criminal Lawyers of Argentina.

In medical cases, the most important thing is to define the existing protocol and what constitutes violation of duty in taking care of the patient, Barbitta said.

"For a crime to exist in these cases, there should be a violation of the rules of the protocol," she said. Maradona was recovering from surgery to remove a subdural hematoma and dealing with substance abuse issues related to drugs and alcohol.

She said discussions of this nature usually center on issues like negligence, inexperience and recklessness of the medical staff. Local media reported nurse Dahiana Madrid said doctors declined to do a CAT scan when she asked for it after Maradona fell and hit the floor.

Madrid's lawyer, Rodolfo Baque, said his client is innocent and that Maradona's death was caused by a lack of care by senior medical staff in charge of his recovery.

"There is a responsibility of the treating physicians. There were many alerts that Maradona was going to die," Baque said, adding doctors failed to prevent it.

Maradona was captain of Argentina's soccer team in 1986 when it won the FIFA World Cup in Mexico. A life of excess, however, took a toll on Maradona's health in later years. In the early 2000s, he moved to Cuba to recover from drug addiction.

After partially recovering, he worked as manager and coach at different clubs, including the Argentine national team, the Al-Wasl Football Club and the Fujairah Football Club in the UAE, and the Dorados de Sinaloa, in Mexico.

"Maradona's situation at the end was a very sad one," said Guillermo Arango, a sports journalist who specializes on soccer in Latin America. "There was a lot of interest in his fortune. At the end, it became evident the situation of abandonment in which he was at the time of his death".

Hundreds of thousands of fans flooded the main square in Buenos Aires when he died despite COVID-19 restrictions. Around the world, millions of soccer enthusiasts also mourned the passing of one of the sport's all-time greats.

In China, images of Maradona were projected onto the tallest building of Tianjin, while dozens of fans gathered in front of the Argentine embassy to pay homage to the beloved soccer player.

The writer is a freelance journalist for China Daily.