Maradona Trial Suspended Amid Kidney Test Controversy

The long, tortured search for answers over Diego Maradona’s death has been thrown into fresh chaos, with the trial in Argentina abruptly suspended after claims that key kidney tests shown in court did not belong to the 1986 World Cup icon at all – but to his late father.

Seven healthcare workers stand accused of criminal negligence over the treatment Maradona received in the days leading up to his death in November 2020, when the 60-year-old died from heart failure and acute pulmonary edema at a rented house in Tigre, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. He had been recovering from surgery for a brain clot.

This is already the second attempt to bring the case to a conclusion. The first trial collapsed dramatically last year, scrapped after two-and-a-half months of hearings when it emerged that one of the judges had secretly taken part in a clandestine documentary about the case.

A new panel, a new trial, and a new chance for clarity began in April. It had edged towards its closing stages. Then the kidney tests exploded into the story.

Kidney tests under suspicion

Defense lawyers now argue that renal test results used as evidence in court were not Maradona’s, but those of his father, also named Diego, who died in 2015. If that is confirmed, a cornerstone of the medical analysis underpinning the case could be shaken.

The court has adjourned proceedings until 27 August to allow a full review of the evidence and the origins of those tests.

The controversy erupted just hours after a nephrologist – part of the official medical commission tasked with examining the circumstances of Maradona’s death – delivered stinging testimony. He told the court that the state of Maradona’s kidneys should have been an unmistakable warning sign for his doctors.

According to his evidence, the former Napoli and Argentina star required “daily medical checkups, daily nursing care, blood tests and monitoring of his vital signs.” In his view, that level of oversight was non-negotiable.

Prosecution unmoved, defense under scrutiny

Despite the uproar over the alleged mix-up, the prosecution insists its case remains intact.

“They (the defense) will not succeed in bringing down the trial,” prosecutor Patricio Ferrari declared, dismissing suggestions that the disputed tests could derail the proceedings.

On the other side, there is no rush to demand a mistrial. A lawyer representing nurse Nancy Forlini, one of the seven accused, was clear that his client wants a resolution, not another collapse.

“I want this case to end so that my client knows her judicial fate,” he said, pushing back against any notion that the defense is trying to blow up the process.

All seven members of the medical team deny providing inadequate care in the days before Maradona’s death.

Commission credibility on the line

The potential fallout stretches beyond this courtroom. If the kidney results are formally confirmed to be those of Maradona’s father, the credibility of the medical commission that assessed his treatment will come under fierce scrutiny.

The nephrologist who spoke on Tuesday is a member of that commission, which has been sharply critical of the care the football legend received in his final days. Any proven error in such a high-profile piece of evidence would raise serious questions about how the investigation was handled, and by whom.

The trial is paused. The questions are not. On 27 August, Argentina will edge closer to an answer: was Diego Maradona failed by those charged with protecting him, or is this case slipping away under the weight of its own mistakes?