Maradona Trial Halted Over Alleged Kidney Test Mix-Up
The trial into the death of Diego Maradona has been abruptly halted after explosive claims that key kidney tests presented in court may not belong to the Argentina icon at all – but to his late father.
What was edging towards a verdict has lurched back into uncertainty.
Seven healthcare workers stand accused of criminal negligence over the treatment Maradona received in the days leading up to his death at 60, in November 2020, while he was recovering from brain surgery. They deny any wrongdoing.
The case has already been chaotic. The first trial was scrapped last year after two and a half months of hearings when it emerged that one of the judges had secretly taken part in a clandestine documentary about the proceedings. A fresh trial began in April and had been moving towards its conclusion.
Then came the latest twist.
Lawyers for the defence argued that kidney test results used as evidence were not those of the 1986 World Cup winner, but of his father, also named Diego Maradona, who died in 2015. The claim cut straight to the heart of the medical evidence underpinning the prosecution.
Faced with that allegation, the court suspended hearings and adjourned the trial until 27 August to allow time to review the disputed material.
The Stakes
The stakes are high. Maradona died of heart failure and acute pulmonary edema – fluid in the lungs – at a rented house in Tigre, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, just two weeks after undergoing surgery for a brain clot. The prosecution argues that his medical team failed him in those final days, providing care that fell far below the standard required for such a fragile patient.
Expert Testimony
On Tuesday, a nephrologist took the stand and delivered a damning assessment of the way the former Napoli and Boca Juniors idol was monitored. He told the court that the state of Maradona’s kidneys should have been an unmistakable warning sign for his doctors.
According to his testimony, Maradona should have been receiving daily medical checkups, daily nursing care, regular blood tests and constant monitoring of his vital signs. None of that, he suggested, was properly guaranteed.
Despite the uproar over the kidney tests, the prosecution moved quickly to project calm. Prosecutor Patricio Ferrari insisted that the alleged mix-up does not undermine the broader case.
“They (the defense) will not succeed in bringing down the trial,” Ferrari said, pushing back against any notion that the proceedings could collapse for a second time.
On the other side, there was no rush to call for a mistrial. A lawyer representing one of the accused, nurse Nancy Forlini, said he would not seek to have the case thrown out.
“I want this case to end so that my client knows her judicial fate,” he said, reflecting the fatigue and tension that now hang over everyone involved.
Yet the implications of the alleged error are serious. If it is confirmed that the kidney results belong to Maradona’s father, the credibility of the medical commission that analysed the circumstances of his death will come under heavy fire. The nephrologist who testified on Tuesday is a member of that commission, which has been sharply critical of the care the former No. 10 received.
A legend is gone, the questions refuse to fade, and now a trial that should have provided answers is heading into another fraught restart at the end of August.
