Argentinian court begins trial of seven healthcare professionals over Maradona's death

A court in Argentina on Tuesday started its trial of seven healthcare professionals accused of negligence in the 2020 death of football superstar Diego Maradona.

Maradona, aged 60, was under the care of the seven when he had a cardiac arrest in a house outside Buenos Aires on 25 November 2020.

Three judges will decide whether those charged, including a neurosurgeon, a psychiatrist and several medical staffers, are guilty of manslaughter. The maximum jail time for those sentenced is 25 years.

According to the prosecutors, Maradona's team didn't provide adequate medical care.

Prosecutor Patricio Ferrari claims evidence goes to show that between 11 and 15 November 2020, Maradona was taken to a house in a private neighborhood in the town of Tigre, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, while not in "full use of his mental faculties" — meaning, he wasn't capable of deciding on home hospitalisation.

Ferrari said it was a reckless decision in which there was no control.

"After condemning him to oblivion in that house ... they deliberately and cruelly decided that he should die," he said.

The prosecutor showed an image of the former football star lying in the bed where he was found dead with his abdomen visibly swollen.

The tearful family of the 1986 World Cup winner were present at the courtroom. Maradona's oldest daughters, Dalma and Giannina, sat in the front row near Verónica Ojeda, former partner of the footballer, and Jana, another of his daughters.

Minutes before the start of the trial, Ojeda shared a video on social media of Maradona's son Diego Fernando wearing a T-shirt with the face of the football star and the word "justice".

The trial could last up to four months, and there will be three weekly hearings. After more than three