By Lucila Sigal and Lucinda Elliott
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) -One of the three Argentine judges presiding in the trial of seven members of Diego Maradona’s medical team charged with negligent homicide in the soccer star’s 2020 death stepped down from the case on Tuesday amid accusations of ethical breaches, leaving the future of the proceedings uncertain.
Judge Julieta Makintach stood down from the case after video surfaced in recent days showing her apparently being interviewed by a camera crew as part of a documentary in the corridors of the Buenos Aires courthouse and in her office. Court rules forbid such interviews involving a judge mid-trial.
Maradona’s trial was adjourned until Thursday to decide next steps.
The trial began on March 11 in the South American country where the World Cup winner is a revered figure. The defendants have denied the charges of “simple homicide with eventual intent” in Maradona’s treatment. If convicted, they could face prison sentences of between eight and 25 years.
“This is a judicial tragedy,” Fernando Burlando, a lawyer for Maradona’s eldest daughters, Dalma and Gianinna, told reporters on Tuesday, referring to the judge’s behavior.
Prosecutors have described the care given to Maradona as reckless, deficient and unprecedented.
What will follow in the trial remains unclear. Burlando said the trial could resume later this year with a new judge appointed to join the case’s remaining two.
Maradona, considered one of the greatest players of all time, died at home in Buenos Aires in November 2020 from heart failure at age 60 while recovering from surgery to remove a blood clot experienced days earlier.
His death prompted an outpouring of grief and finger-pointing in Argentina over who was to blame after Maradona’s years-long battle with addiction and ill health. Maradona led Argentina to a World Cup victory in 1986 and scored one of the most memorable goals in sporting history against England.
An eighth member of the medical team faces a separate trial by jury in July.
Testimony already given in the trial has come from witnesses including family members, doctors, friends of Maradona and journalists. One of the seven defendants, Maradona’s psychiatrist, has testified. In all, more than 190 witness are expected to be called.
(Reporting by Lucila Sigal in Buenos Aires and Lucinda Elliott in Montevideo; Editing by Brendan O’Boyle, Peter Henderson, Will Dunham and Stephen Coates)
