Argentina, a soccer-mad nation, is upset and angry at Maradona’s death trial

This week, Argentina will start a trial against the late soccer legend Diego Maradona’s medical team for homicide by negligence. The case has sparked intense emotions in Argentina, where the World Cup winner is still held in near-divine awe.

On Tuesday, more than four years after Maradona passed away in November 2020 from heart failure at the age of 60 following brain surgery, the experiment, which is anticipated to run for months, begins. The charges are usually denied by his medical team.

Nearly 120 testimonies will be heard in a court in San Isidro, which is outside of Buenos Aires. “Simple homicide with eventual intent” is the charge against the accused for their abuse of the former Boca Juniors and Napoli footballer.

Following the icon’s years-long struggle with addiction and poor health, Maradona’s death shocked the South American country where he was adored, leading to a period of grief and irate finger-pointing over who was at fault.

Maradona struggled with drink and drug addiction, but was adored—including in tattoos, opens new tab—for his imperfect talent that helped Argentina win the 1986 World Cup. He was nicknamed “D10S,” a play on the Spanish word for God, and “Pelusa” because of his prominent hair.

The soccer player’s medical staff was found to have operated in a “inappropriate, deficient, and reckless manner” by a medical board that was constituted to look into the circumstances, which heightened the outrage surrounding his death.

“They killed him, therefore I hope justice is served. Argentina’s Luis Alberto Suarez told Reuters in Buenos Aires that Diego (Maradona) should still be alive. “They didn’t take care of him.”

Maradona’s medical staff was deemed to have performed in a “inappropriate, deficient, and reckless manner” by a medical board that was appointed to look into his death in early 2021.

But not everyone was so certain.

“I am limited to speaking on what I observe from the outside. However, we cannot say if they were correct or not,” Martin Milei, a self-employed individual, stated.

“Looking back, they made a huge mistake. However, I believe that more people are accountable than are being stated.

Pablo Knopfler, an unemployed Argentine, expressed his optimism that the trial will reveal the truth.

“I hope there’s a trial to know with more clarity what happened to Diego,” he stated. “Perhaps there’s someone up above us or maybe Diego himself who wants to shed light on what happened to him so that the truth is revealed.”