Judge steps down in Diego Maradona trial after documentary controversy

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — One of the three judges in the trial of seven health professionals accused of negligence in the death of Diego Maradona stepped down from the proceedings Tuesday after becoming embroiled in controversy for having participated in the making of a documentary about the case.

Julieta Makintach withdrew from the San Isidro court handling the case after the prosecutor showed footage of a documentary that spans the first moments after the soccer star’s death in 2020 to the start of the trial more than two months ago, in which the judge appears as one of its lead characters.

Following Makintach’s resignation, the other two judges will have to decide how the case will proceed.

The trial was suspended for a week after prosecutor Patricio Ferrari asked the court to review Makintach’s role in allegedly allowing the documentary to be filmed during the trial.

Leopoldo Luque, Maradona’s primary physician at the time of the star’s death and one of the main defendants, had requested Makintach’s removal from the trial.

Luque’s lawyer, Julio Rivas, said he had been contacted by the BBC requesting an interview because they were making a documentary about the trial.

Maradona, who led Argentina to the World Cup title in 1986, died on Nov. 25, 2020 while undergoing home hospitalization on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, days after undergoing surgery for a hematoma that formed between his skull and brain. He was 60.

Seven healthcare professionals are on trial for allegedly failing to provide adequate care and could face a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.

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