Judge steps down in Diego Maradona trial after documentary controversy

By: Sergio Farella And Almudena Calatrava, The Associated Press Posted: 2:32 PM CDT Tuesday, May. 27, 2025 Last Modified: 4:02 PM CDT Tuesday, May. 27, 2025

Advertise with us

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — One of the three judges overseeing the trial of seven health professionals accused of negligence in the death of Diego Maradona stepped down from the proceedings Tuesday amid controversy over her participation in the making of a documentary about the case.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

Read unlimited articles for free today:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/05/2025 (482 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Julieta Makintach withdrew from the case after the prosecutor showed footage of the 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.

Judge Julieta Makintach arrives at court for a hearing in the trial of health professionals accused of negligence in the death of soccer star Diego Maradona, in San Isidro, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)

The trial was suspended for a week after prosecutor Patricio Ferrari asked the San Isidro 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.