Maradona trial: final witness does not rule out a Covid-19-related death

The final witness in the trial over Diego Maradona’s death does not rule out the possibility that the former footballer died from Covid-19. Maradona died on 25 November 2020, during the pandemic, while receiving home treatment at a house on the outskirts of Buenos Aires.

The trial began on 14 April at the courts in San Isidro. The testimony of official forensic expert Pablo Ferrari caused surprise because he put forward a hypothesis that had not been mentioned during the previous 43 hearings, in which 76 witnesses testified.

Before the court, Ferrari said he could not rule out that Diego Maradona died from Covid-19. He described the failure to carry out a coronavirus screening test as part of the autopsy as a “methodological error”. In his view, the disease could enter through the respiratory tract, become fulminant in its virulence and kill a patient within hours.

The official expert also said that Maradona accumulated fluid in one lung over a short period, which could have been minutes or a few hours. According to that analysis, the fluid accumulation would have caused suffocation and then cardiac arrest. “His agony must have lasted only a few minutes,” he said.

Experts called by the accused had previously described a sudden death. Ferrari is, however, the only official expert to support that account of events, making him a key witness for the defence of Leopoldo Luque, identified throughout the trial as the doctor responsible for the former footballer’s health. Ferrari took part in an expert assessment requested in 2025 by Luque’s defence.

The next hearing is scheduled for 29 September, when the accused will begin to expand on their statements. Closing arguments are due to begin on 6 October and the trial is expected to continue until the end of the month. Alongside Luque, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, Swiss Medical home-care coordinator Nancy Forlini, psychologist Carlos Díaz, nursing coordinator Mariano Perroni, nurse Ricardo Almirón and clinical doctor Pedro Di Spagna are on trial, all charged with simple homicide with possible intent.