Expert Panel: Maradona Was Left to 'Fate' Ahead of Death

Soccer Football - Superliga - Boca Juniors v Gimnasia y Esgrima - Alberto J. Armando Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina - March 7, 2020 Gimnasia y Esgrima coach Diego Maradona before the match REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian
Soccer Football - Superliga - Boca Juniors v Gimnasia y Esgrima - Alberto J. Armando Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina - March 7, 2020 Gimnasia y Esgrima coach Diego Maradona before the match REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian
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Expert Panel: Maradona Was Left to 'Fate' Ahead of Death

Soccer Football - Superliga - Boca Juniors v Gimnasia y Esgrima - Alberto J. Armando Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina - March 7, 2020 Gimnasia y Esgrima coach Diego Maradona before the match REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian
Soccer Football - Superliga - Boca Juniors v Gimnasia y Esgrima - Alberto J. Armando Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina - March 7, 2020 Gimnasia y Esgrima coach Diego Maradona before the match REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian

Argentine football icon Diego Maradona received inadequate medical care and was left to his fate for a "prolonged, agonizing period" before he died last year, an expert medical panel concluded Friday.

In a 70-page document, the panel stated that Maradona, who succumbed to a heart attack on November 25 at the age of 60, "started to die at least 12 hours before" the moment he was found dead in his bed.

Maradona died just weeks after undergoing brain surgery on a blood clot.

A panel of 20 experts was convened by Argentina's public prosecutor to examine the cause of death and to determine if there had been any negligence.

Maradona's neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov and psychologist Carlos Diaz are under investigation as well as two nurses, a nursing coordinator and a medical coordinator.
The finding could result in a case of wrongful death, and a prison sentence of up to 15 years if convicted.

The legal proceedings were prompted by a complaint filed by two of Maradona's five daughters against Luque, whom they blamed for their father's deteriorating condition after the brain operation.

Maradona underwent surgery on November 3, just four days after he celebrated his 60th birthday at the club he coached, Gimnasia y Esgrima.

However, he appeared in poor health then, and had trouble speaking.

Maradona had battled cocaine and alcohol addictions during his life.

He was suffering from liver, kidney and cardiovascular disorders when he died.

Two of the football great's daughters have accused Luque of responsibility in Maradona's deteriorating health.

The panel concluded that Maradona "would have had a better chance of survival" with adequate treatment in an appropriate medical facility.

He died in his bed in a rented house in an exclusive Buenos Aires neighborhood, where he was receiving home care.

Maradona did not have "full use of his mental faculties" and should not have been left to decide where he would be treated, the experts said.

They also found that his treatment was rife with "deficiencies and irregularities" and the medical team had left his survival "to fate.”

Sebastian Sanchi, a former spokesman for Maradona, told AFP, "it is clear that the panel says that things were not done right."

Maradona is an idol to millions of Argentines after he inspired the South American country to only its second World Cup triumph in 1986.

An attacking midfielder who spent two years with Spanish giants Barcelona, he is also loved in Naples where he helped Napoli win the only two Serie A titles in the club's history.



Just Frustration: Piastri Explains Radio Cursing at Alpine

Second-placed McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia poses on the podium with his trophy after the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring racetrack in Spielberg, Austria, 29 June 2025. (EPA)
Second-placed McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia poses on the podium with his trophy after the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring racetrack in Spielberg, Austria, 29 June 2025. (EPA)
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Just Frustration: Piastri Explains Radio Cursing at Alpine

Second-placed McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia poses on the podium with his trophy after the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring racetrack in Spielberg, Austria, 29 June 2025. (EPA)
Second-placed McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia poses on the podium with his trophy after the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring racetrack in Spielberg, Austria, 29 June 2025. (EPA)

McLaren's Formula One championship leader Oscar Piastri said cursing at former employers Alpine over the radio at last weekend's Austrian Grand Prix was just a humorous way of expressing his frustration.

The Australian made a comment after having to go off track to avoid Renault-owned Alpine's Argentine driver Franco Colapinto.

"Alpine still managed to find a way to (expletive) me over all these years later, huh?," he told race engineer Tom Stallard in an exchange not broadcast on television at the time.

Piastri told Reuters at a McLaren fan event in London's Trafalgar Square on Wednesday that his swearing had just been spur of the moment.

"It was just kind of a frustrating coincidence. My qualifying got hampered by an Alpine. I got impeded in the race by both the Alpines. So, it was kind of just a build-up of a few things," he said. "And it was more out of frustration.

"I still have a lot of friends at Alpine. A lot of people that I respect a lot.

"It was just kind of an ironic coincidence that the things that hampered me a bit in the weekend were all with Alpine. But, yeah -- more just me trying to express my humor and frustration in the race."

Piastri joined McLaren after being named by Alpine as their driver for 2023, only for the Australian to very publicly reject the seat with a statement that has become part of Formula One lore.

Then Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer questioned the driver's integrity, and threatened legal action, but McLaren won easily when the matter went to the contract recognition board.

Alpine are now last in the championship, and are still going through turmoil, while McLaren won the constructors' title last year and are runaway favorites again.