Maradona trial, the shocking closing statement: "He was abandoned to his fate."

San Isidro – Diego Armando Maradona was allegedly left "in a state of neglect," entrusted to a medical team characterized by "chaotic organization" and management that, according to the prosecution, progressively increased the risk for an extremely fragile patient.

This is the reconstruction at the heart of Chief Prosecutor Patricio Ferrari's closing statement, delivered before the San Isidro court in the trial into the death of the Argentine champion. After six months of hearings and 45 sessions, the proceedings have entered the final phase, that of the prosecution's requests and the defense's oral arguments.

For the prosecutors, the central point of the investigation has not changed: in the last days of his life, Maradona was cared for inappropriately and without the level of supervision his medical condition would have required.

«An almost anarchic structure»

Ferrari spoke of a "total disorganization" and an "almost anarchic structure" in the patient's management. A team, according to the prosecution, composed of professionals who progressively lost sight of Maradona's particular vulnerability.

"They forgot at every moment that they were dealing with a vulnerable and complex patient," the prosecutor argued, accusing some of the defendants of having acted by seriously underestimating the risks.

Seven healthcare professionals are on trial: doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, and nurses, all facing various charges for alleged negligence during the home care they provided to Maradona in November 2020.

The charges are serious. If convicted, the defendants face up to 25 years in prison.

A house without the equipment for an emergency

One of the key issues in the process concerns the choice of home care after the neurosurgery Maradona underwent.

The prosecutor's office first challenged the decision not to transfer the sample to a healthcare facility, where it could have been subjected to continuous monitoring.

According to what emerged during the hearings, the house rented in Tigre for his convalescence did not have a hospital bed, a defibrillator, an IV kit immediately available, or an ambulance ready to respond.

According to Ferrari, it was a case of "deficient and reckless" home care.

"There was nothing, an absolute void," the prosecutor stated, summarizing what the prosecution considers one of the most serious elements of the case.

The signals that, according to the prosecution, were ignored

During the months of the trial, particular attention was paid to Maradona's clinical conditions in the days preceding his death.

According to several experts heard in court, the picture presented numerous warning signs: swelling, edema, ascites, breathing difficulties and tachycardia.

Symptoms that, according to the prosecution's reconstruction, were not addressed promptly enough.

"Diego Armando Maradona's death certainly didn't come out of nowhere," emphasized Deputy Prosecutor Cosme Iribarren, citing the findings of the interdisciplinary medical commission established in 2021 to reconstruct the circumstances of his death.

According to the prosecution, therefore, the worsening was not sudden, but rather showed progressive signs that should have prompted the team to intervene.

In the courtroom, a photo of the champion on his deathbed

During the closing speech, one of the most dramatic images of the entire trial also recurred: that of Maradona on his deathbed, with his abdomen severely swollen.

The photograph was shown again in the courtroom. It was a particularly painful moment for the champion's daughters, who were present at the hearing and appeared deeply moved. Some of them covered their faces with their hands when faced with their father's image.

Ferrari indicated that very photograph as the clearest representation of the reconstruction supported by the prosecution.

"This image is the result of all the activity, and all the inactivity, of those who should have been responsible for the patient's health," the prosecutor said.

The death of the Pibe de Oro on November 25, 2020

Maradona died on November 25, 2020, at the age of 60, in his home in Tigre where he was recovering from neurosurgery.

Death was attributed to cardiorespiratory failure associated with pulmonary edema.

Since then, the question the trial has sought to answer is whether that death was inevitable or whether different, more timely medical care could have prevented it.

It is precisely on this point that the prosecution is focusing, convinced that a sequence of omissions and wrong decisions occurred in the champion's final days.

The defense: no individual responsibility

The defendants deny the charges and deny any individual responsibility for the champion's death.

Among them is Leopoldo Luque, the neurosurgeon who was considered Maradona's trusted doctor at the time. The defense focuses on the specific expertise and diverse roles of the professionals involved, arguing that the clinical causes of death cannot be attributed to their individual responsibilities.

The trial has now reached its decisive stage. After the prosecution's closing arguments, the defense will present its closing arguments. The final hearings are expected to last approximately two weeks. The verdict will be announced later.

Nearly six years after the death of "El Diez," the court will decide whether criminal liability was involved in the death of one of the greatest footballers in history, or whether Maradona's dramatic end cannot be attributed to the professionals held responsible for his final years.