Maradona's doctor has home and office searched as star's death investigated
The move, ordered by prosecutors in Argentina, came after the 60-year-old sporting legend suffered a fatal heart attack.
Monday 30 November 2020 03:36, UK
Searches have been carried out at the home and office of Diego Maradona's doctor as part of an investigation into the football legend's death.
The move, ordered by prosecutors in Argentina, came after the 60-year-old national hero suffered a fatal heart attack last Wednesday.
The death of one of the world's greatest ever players sparked a global outpouring of grief from the streets of Buenos Aires to Naples in Italy.
The search orders were approved by a judge following inquiries, which included the taking of statements from family members.
The prosecutor's office said: "By virtue of the evidence that was collected, it was considered necessary to request searches at the home and office of doctor Leopoldo Luque."
It is understood investigators were trying to secure Maradona's medical records.
Weeks before his death, Maradona was admitted to hospital with signs of depression and later had a blood clot removed from his brain.
He left the clinic in Buenos Aires just over a week later to continue his recovery at home.
Speaking to reporters, Dr Luque said he recommended for the footballing legend to stay at the hospital after the surgery, but added he "wasn't responsible for everything" involving Maradona's medical care.
He said: ''If you ask me, I'm a neurosurgeon and my job ended. I was done with him.
"There is no medical negligence, not even what they say about his illness," he added. "Diego had a fortuitous event that caused a heart attack to a patient with his characteristics, which is the most common thing for a patient to die like that.
"Regrettably, it was a fact that could've happened before or afterwards.''
His lawyer Matias Morla has already said he would be seeking a full investigation into the circumstances of the sporting icon's death, criticising what he said was a slow response by emergency services.
"The ambulance took more than half an hour to arrive, which was a criminal idiocy," he wrote in a Twitter post.
Maradona was buried next to the graves of his parents, Dalma and Diego, last Thursday in a private ceremony attended by only two dozen people
It followed a vigil at the presidential palace where tens of thousands of weeping fans lined up to file past the coffin of the player, who led the country to a 1986 World Cup win and was revered with cult-like status.
There were violent clashes after the viewing was cut short, preventing many more people from paying their respects.
At the time of his death he was staying in a house outside Buenos Aires where he had been recovering from a brain operation.
He had suffered from a long series of medical problems, some of which were linked to drug and alcohol abuse.