Days after Argentine football great Diego Maradona passed away from a heart attack at the age of 60, Buenos Aires Police raided the home and private clinic of his doctor Leopoldo Luque, launching an investigation into the circumstances around the footballer's death, multiple news sources reported. THE WEEK could not independently verify the same. News agency AFP reported that Luque was being probed for involuntary manslaughter after concerns raised by three of Maradona's daughters, Dalma, Gianinna and Jana, over the treatment he received for his heart condition.
Maradona had died two weeks after being released from a Buenos Aires hospital following brain surgery for a blood clot, and he was being treated for alcohol dependency. BBC reported that there were suspicions that his home rehabilitation might not have met the conditions of his discharge from the clinic, such as a 24-hour team of nurses "specialised in substance abuse", the on-call presence of doctors, and a stand-by ambulance, reported the outlet.
Maradona's doctor said he did his very best for Maradona. "'I know what I did and what I did was for Diego's benefit until the last moment. I did the best I could. I feel terrible because a friend died. I don't blame myself for anything. It is very unfair what is happening," Luque said at a media conference, reported Daily Mail.
Maradona's life was as stormy as it was remarkable. Famed for the "Hand of God" goal in which he punched the ball into England's net during the 1986 World Cup quarterfinals, Maradona captivated fans over a two-decade career with a bewitching style of play that was all his own.
But, health problems plagued him. A ballooning waistline slowed Maradona's explosive speed later in his career and by 1991 he was snared in his first doping scandal when he admitted to a cocaine habit that haunted him until he retired in 1997, at 37. Hospitalised near death in 2000 and again in 2004 for heart problems blamed on cocaine, he later said he overcame the drug problem. Cocaine, he once said famously, had proven to be his "toughest rival." But more health problems followed, despite a 2005 gastric bypass that greatly trimmed his weight. Maradona was hospitalised in early 2007 for acute hepatitis that his doctor blamed on excessive drinking and eating.
-Inputs from agencies
