Prosecutors in Argentina have asked for prison sentences of up to 12 years for the medical team that cared for Diego Maradona before his death, telling a court in San Isidro on Thursday that the icon was left helpless and unprotected in his final days.
Maradona, the star of the 1986 World Cup, died aged 60 on November 25, 2020, of heart failure and acute pulmonary oedema while recovering, two weeks after brain clot surgery, at a rented home in the Buenos Aires suburb of Tigre.
Leopoldo Luque, his personal physician and lead medical adviser, faces the longest request of 12 years. Prosecutors Patricio Ferrari and Cosme Iribarren also sought eight years in prison for psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, with a ten-year ban on practising medicine for both.
For the other defendants, prosecutors requested prison terms of ten years for care coordinator Nancy Forlini, five for psychologist Carlos Diaz, and four each for coordinator Mariano Perroni and nurse Ricardo Almiron, who would also face practice bans of the same length.
All seven were charged with simple homicide with eventual intent, a legal term meaning they allegedly knew their conduct could cause harm and carried on regardless. For one of them, physician Pedro Di Spagna, who examined Maradona only once, prosecutors requested acquittal.
Ferrari called the defendants “a group of improvisers who forgot at all times that they were caring for a complex patient”. He showed the court hundreds of messages from the days before the death in which the team and family agreed Maradona was swollen.
His colleague Iribarren said Maradona’s death “clearly did not come out of nowhere”, pointing to warning signs that appeared long beforehand. Prosecutors also cited the near-total absence of equipment at the rented home in Tigre, including a hospital bed, defibrillator and quickly available ambulance.
The defendants deny the charges, arguing the death could not have been foreseen. The case turns on whether letting him recover at a private home instead of a hospital was negligent. Several experts testified that carers ignored swelling, a racing heart and breathing difficulties.
Maradona’s three daughters sat in court and covered their faces as prosecutors displayed images of the former footballer’s body. Former partner Veronica Ojeda, who has endured two painful years of proceedings, said: “We want justice, and we are going to get it.”
Closing arguments continue on October 13 with lawyers for Maradona’s youngest son, Diego Fernando, and daughter Jana, followed on October 14 by lawyers for Gianinna, Dalma and his sisters. The defence will speak on October 20, 21 and 22 before the court retires to deliberate.
This is the second trial over his death. The first was annulled in May 2025, after two and a half months of hearings, when it emerged that one of the judges had taken part in a clandestine documentary about the case.