The long-awaited trial of medical staff who treated the late Argentine football legend Diego Maradona has started in the capital, Buenos Aires.

Maradona was convalescing when he died of a heart attack at his home in 2020, aged 60. He had been recovering at home from surgery on a brain blood clot earlier that month.

Prosecutors allege that Maradona’s death could have been avoided and accuse the hospital staff of medical negligence.

The defendants say Maradona had refused further treatment and should have stayed in hospital for longer after his operation.

They risk prison terms between eight and 25 years if convicted on the charge of “homicide with possible intent”.