Argentine justice officials on Sunday seized medical files from the doctor of Diego Maradona as part of their investigation into the recent death of the soccer star.
Maradona died at age 60 on Wednesday after a heart attack.
The search was requested by prosecutors in the rich Buenos Aires suburb of San Isidro. The prosecutor’s office said in a statement that no charges had been brought against the doctor, Leopoldo Luque, or anyone else, but the probe would continue.
“We have started to analyze the material that was taken” from Luque’s home and office, the statement said. It did not provide information on what prompted the probe.
“They took the clinical files,” Luque told reporters.
“There was no medical error,” Luque said, adding that he was not responsible for the death of the soccer player who catapulted to international fame and semi-divine status at home after leading the Argentine team that won the 1986 World Cup.
In later years, Maradona struggled with substance abuse issues. “Diego was tired, tired of being ‘Maradona’”, Luque said.
The player’s lawyer, Matias Moria, on Thursday said he would ask for a full investigation of the circumstances of the soccer legend’s death, criticizing what he said was a slow response by emergency service.
“The ambulance took more than half an hour to arrive, which was criminal idiocy,” Matias said on Thursday in a Twitter post.
Luque said faster ambulance service would not have saved Maradona’s life. “You would have needed medical equipment at his house, including a respirator,” he told reporters.
REUTERS