Maradona's doctor defends himself before the Prosecutor's Office: "What had to be done was done and more too"

By Débora Rey - The Associated Press

Diego Armando Maradona's doctor appeared on Monday to testify spontaneously before the Argentine Prosecutor's Office that is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of the soccer legend.

"I am calm, very confident," neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque told reporters upon entering the prosecutor's office in San Isidro, a northern suburb of the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires.

The justice does not impute any charges, but on Sunday the police raided his home and office, and seized Maradona's medical records, as well as computers, hard drives and cell phones, in the framework of an investigation that seeks to determine if the former footballer died for medical malpractice.

Leopoldo Luque, neurosurgeon of Diego Armando Maradona, EFE

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After the judicial procedure, Luque defended his treatment of Maradona, who died on Wednesday of cardiac arrest after having been operated on for cerebral edema on November 3.

The former captain of the Argentine national team had turned 60 almost a month ago.

“What had to be done was done and more too,” said Luque, who ended up crying over the course of the 40-minute press conference.

"I have nothing to reproach myself," he added.

They investigate Maradona's doctor for possible negligence in the death of the soccer star

Nov. 29, 202002: 11

Luque argued that it was very difficult to deal with Maradona, assuring that he resisted receiving medical treatment to the point that he was thrown out of his home on multiple occasions.

He maintained that he was her neurosurgeon and not her family doctor, and that decisions were made among a medical team in which he had no hierarchy over others.

He also pointed out that he made suggestions that the star accepted or did not accept.

"Diego did what he wanted," said Luque, highlighting Maradona's strong character, "Diego needed help, there was no way to get into him."

[In pictures: Diego Armando Maradona's life of glory and misery]

Maradona was buried on Thursday in a private ceremony attended by about twenty people after a vigil at the national government headquarters where thousands lined up to pass in front of his coffin.

The captain of the Argentine team that won the 1986 World Cup lived in a house in a private neighborhood on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, where he had been confined to recover from an operation for cranial edema after a decompensation caused by the ingestion of psychoactive drugs alcoholic drinks.

They investigate Maradona's doctor for possible negligence in the death of the soccer star

Nov. 29, 202002: 11

Luque affirmed that Maradona's death was predictable because he did not take care of himself: "In a patient with his characteristics, it is the most common thing in the world for him to die like this."

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Maradona suffered from different problems throughout his life derived in large part from his drug addiction.

Following his retirement as a player, he was on the brink of death in 2000 and 2004.