A retrial into the death of the football legend Diego Maradona began on Tuesday, a year after the first case collapsed in a mistrial.

Seven members of his medical team are charged with negligent homicide after he died from a heart attack, aged 60.

They have denied the allegations. If convicted, they face between eight and 25 years in prison.

The first trial collapsed last May when one of its three judges resigned after allegedly allowing unauthorised filming in court for a documentary.

Maradona died in 2020 at his home in Tigre, Buenos Aires province, while he was recuperating from surgery to remove a brain blood clot.

Investigators classified the case as culpable homicide - a crime similar to involuntary manslaughter - because they said the accused were aware of the seriousness of Maradona's health condition but did not take the necessary measures to save him.

The heart failure caused him to suffer acute pulmonary oedema, when fluid builds up in the lungs, the preliminary autopsy confirmed.

A panel of medical experts, asked by prosecutors to investigate Maradona's medical team, said the treatment he received at his home was "deficient and reckless".

It concluded that the footballer "would have had a better chance of survival" with adequate treatment in an appropriate medical facility.

The seven people on trial include his main medical adviser, Leopoldo Luque, and his psychiatrist, Agustina Cosachov. His former nurse, Dahiana Gisela Madrid, will stand trial separately.

Getty Images Maradona mid-play during the 1986 world cup (1986 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Peru at the National Stadium on June 23) — The Argentinian is remembered as one of the game's most gifted players

Around 100 people are set to testify in front of a new set of judges at a court in San Isidro, including Maradona's daughters. The trial is expected to last until July.

When the footballer died on 25 November 2020, then President of Argentina Alberto Fernandez declared three days of national mourning.

"Thank you for having existed, Diego. We're going to miss you all our lives," he said.

Maradona started his career with Argentinos Juniors. He went on to represent Argentina in four World Cups, scoring 34 goals, including the infamous "Hand of God" goal against England in 1986.

During the second half of his career, he struggled with cocaine addiction. He was banned for 15 months after testing positive for the drug in 1991.

He retired from professional football in 1997, on his 37th birthday, during his second stint at Argentine giants Boca Juniors.

Maradona was appointed head coach of the national team in 2008 and left after the 2010 World Cup, where his side were beaten by Germany in the quarter-finals.

He subsequently managed teams in the United Arab Emirates and Mexico and was in charge of Argentinian club Gimnasia y Esgrima at the time of his death.

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Retrial for Maradona death begins

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