Maradona’s Daughter Accuses Medical Team of ‘Total Manipulation’ in Trial
Gianinna Maradona, daughter of the late football legend Diego Maradona, testified at the trial of seven medical professionals accused in connection with her father’s 2020 death, accusing them of a “total and horrible manipulation” of the family during his final weeks.
Speaking at the San Isidro court near Buenos Aires on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, Gianinna, 36, stated she felt “like an idiot” after trusting the medical team that had overseen her father’s post-operative care following neurosurgery. She specifically named Leopoldo Luque, the neurosurgeon considered Maradona’s personal physician; Agustina Cosachov, the psychiatrist; and Carlos Diaz, the addiction specialist psychologist, as those who had manipulated the family and left her son without a grandfather.
The trial, which has been ongoing since May 2025, involves seven healthcare professionals—including doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, and nurses—charged with potential culpable homicide for their alleged role in Maradona’s death. The football icon died on November 25, 2020, at age 60 from a cardiorespiratory crisis and pulmonary edema while recovering alone in a rented residence in Tigre, near Buenos Aires, after undergoing neurosurgery without complications.
Gianinna described the medical team’s conduct as a “funeral-like theater piece” orchestrated to serve their own interests, suggesting they had staged the situation to keep her father isolated in a bleak environment. Her testimony, delivered over nearly seven hours and marked by frequent tears, emphasized the family’s sense of being sidelined and misinformed by those entrusted with her father’s care.
Her lawyer, Fernando Burlando, has previously suggested a financial motive behind the medical team’s actions, characterizing it as the “flip side” of the negligence case. The prosecution alleges the defendants acted with potential dolus eventualis, meaning they proceeded with full awareness that their negligence could lead to death.
As the trial continues, the court is examining whether the medical team’s failures in monitoring and care directly contributed to the circumstances that led to Maradona’s sudden death. The proceedings aim to establish accountability for the loss of one of football’s most iconic figures.
For ongoing updates on this significant legal case in sports medicine, readers are encouraged to follow trusted sports news outlets for verified developments as the trial progresses toward its conclusion.
