Maradona's lawyer demands probe into circumstances of star’s death, slams ‘slow response’

The coffin holding the body of soccer legend Diego Maradona arrives at the Casa Rosada presidential palace, in Buenos Aires, Argentina early November 26, 2020. [Reuters, Martin Villar]

Diego Maradona’s lawyer, Matías Morla, said on Thursday that he would ask for a full investigation into the circumstances of the soccer star’s death, and criticized what he said was a slow response by emergency service.

Maradona, 60, died on Wednesday at his Tigre home in the north of Buenos Aires after suffering heart failure. The former footballer had various health problems and weeks ago he had undergone surgery for a blood clot in his head.

“It is inexplicable that for 12 hours my friend has had no attention or check-up from the personnel dedicated to these ends,” Morla said in a statement on his Twitter account.

“The ambulance took more than half an hour to arrive, which was a criminal idiocy,” he added, saying that the fact should not be “brushed aside” and that he would seek a full investigation into the matter.

In this March 7, 2020 file photo, Diego Maradona, coach of Gimnasia y Esgrima, sits on the bench prior to Argentina's soccer league match against Boca Juniors at La Bombonera stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Maradona turns 60 on Friday, Oct. 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)