Maradona’s doctor ‘was not in charge of home care’

Diego Maradona’s personal doctor has denied any responsibility for the football legend’s death.

Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona. Picture: AFP

Diego Maradona’s personal doctor has denied any responsibility for the football legend’s death, in which he and six other medical personnel are being investigated for manslaughter.

Leopoldo Luque, 39, appeared before Buenos Aires prosecutors to answer to claims that he and other caregivers had neglected Maradona in his final days, precipitating his death.

The neurosurgeon will “explain that he was not in charge of (Maradona’s) home care” as he recovered from brain surgery for a blood clot, the doctor’s lawyer, Julio Rivas, said on the sidelines of the hearing on Monday (Tuesday AEST).

Maradona, 60, was found dead in bed last November, two weeks after the surgery, in a rented house in an exclusive Buenos Aires neighbourhood to where he was brought after being discharged from hospital. He was found to have died of a heart attack.

“I see no responsibility either in Agustina or in Leo” for Maradona’s death, Mr Rivas said of Dr Luque and co-accused psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, 36.

Other members of the team have said the duo was in charge of the retired footballer’s care.

Dr Luque’s questioning closes a two-week process of interrogation. He and the other six have appeared one by one to defend themselves against the accusations.

A judge will next decide whether to order a trial, in a process that could take years. The suspects risk between eight and 25 years in jail if found guilty.

An investigation was opened following a complaint filed by two of Maradona’s five children against Dr Luque, whom they blame for their father’s deterioration after the operation.

A panel of 20 medical experts convened by Argentina’s public prosecutor said last month that Maradona’s treatment was rife with “deficiencies and irregularities.” The panel concluded he “would have had a better chance of survival” with adequate treatment in an appropriate medical centre.

The board found the team had provided inadequate care and abandoned the idolised player to his fate for a “prolonged, agonising period.”

Judicial sources said Dr Luque’s lawyers had submitted a document to prosecutors ahead of the hearing that was expected to last several hours. He was not obliged to answer questions, but Mr Rivas said that he would.

Dr Luque has repeatedly ­denied guilt and recently said: “I’m proud of what I did” to assist the patient, denying he had abandoned him.

“I did my best. I offered Diego everything I could: some things he accepted, others not,” he said in a recent interview.

The doctor said Maradona had been depressed in his final days. “I know that the (coronavirus) quarantine hit him very hard,” Dr Luque has said.

Maradona appeared in public on October 30 at an event to mark his 60th birthday, visibly weakened and appearing to be having difficulty speaking and walking.

AFP