Judge’s role in TV Series ends Maradona medical trial

The court case against Diego Maradona’s medical team has been thrown out after one of the judges involved was found to have taken part in a documentary about the same case.

This has forced the entire trial to be halted and restarted from the beginning.

The trial, which started on 11 March and was expected to run until July, has now been declared a mistrial.

The presiding judge made the announcement after growing concerns over the involvement of fellow judge Julieta Makintach in an unauthorised film project linked to the case.

Seven members of Maradona’s medical team, including a neurosurgeon, a doctor, and a night nurse, had been charged with negligent homicide following the football legend’s death in 2020.

They have denied any wrongdoing.

Maradona had been recovering at home in Buenos Aires after brain surgery for a blood clot when he died from a heart attack at the age of 60.

His medical team has argued that he turned down further treatment and should not have been discharged so soon after the operation.

If found guilty, the accused faced prison terms of between eight and 25 years.

One of the turning points in the case came earlier this week when Prosecutor Patricio Ferrari criticised Makintach, saying she acted "like an actress and not a judge."

The remarks followed the revelation that she had appeared in a documentary series about the case, titled Divine Justice.

The courtroom grew tense when a trailer for the documentary was shown. Defence lawyer Rodolfo Baque shouted “trash!” at Makintach as the footage played.

Maradona’s daughter Gianinna and his former partner Veronica Ojeda broke down in tears during the screening.

Filming of court proceedings without approval is against court rules, and the series had not received official permission.

After facing mounting criticism, Makintach stepped away from the trial, stating she had “no choice” but to withdraw from the case.

Her departure led to a delay in the hearings, and on Thursday, the decision was made to restart the entire trial from scratch.

So far, nearly 50 witnesses had already testified, including members of Maradona’s family. But now, those testimonies will not count unless repeated in a new trial.

No new date has been set, and the court has yet to assign new judges to oversee the fresh proceedings. With no timeline in place, justice for one of football’s most iconic figures remains on hold.