The daughter of Argentine football legend Diego Maradona has launched a tirade at his critics after an autopsy revealed there was no alcohol or narcotics in the World Cup winner’s body at the time of his death aged 60 in November.
The autopsy revealed no traces of alcohol or narcotics but did confirm the presence of psychotropic drugs used to treat anxiety and depression, according to ESPN.
At the time of his death just outside Buenos Aires on November 25, Maradona was recovering from brain surgery which had been carried out two weeks previously.
A preliminary autopsy had already concluded that the former Barcelona and Napoli star had died in his sleep after suffering acute pulmonary edema, a build-up of fluid in the lungs, caused by congestive heart failure.
Maradona’s heart is said to have weighed twice as much as normal at the time of his death, while he had also suffered damage to his lungs, kidneys and liver.
Gianinna Maradona, one of the football icon’s three daughters, took to social media in an apparent swipe at those suspecting that past habits had played an immediate role in her father’s death, instead suggesting he had not been himself in the lead-up to his demise.
“All the sons of b*tches waiting for my dad’s autopsy to reveal drugs, marijuana and alcohol. I am not a doctor but I saw him very swollen. A robotic voice. It wasn’t his voice,” an emotional Gianinna wrote on Twitter.
Todos los hijos de puta esperando que la autopsia de mi papá tenga droga, marihuana y alcohol. No soy doctora y lo veía muy hinchado. La voz robótica. No era su voz. Estaba pasando y yo era la LOCA DESQUICIADA.
After the football icon’s death, attention turned to the treatment he had been receiving as he recovered from brain surgery.
Police raided the house and private clinic of Leopoldo Luque, Maradona’s 39-year-old personal doctor, in an investigation into possible manslaughter. Luque has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
Maradona had well-documented problems with alcohol and substance abuse throughout his career, and also saw his weight balloon dramatically.
In January 2019, the former Argentina captain was admitted to hospital with internal bleeding in the stomach, and he also fell ill during a wildly erratic appearance at the World Cup in Russia in 2018.
Previously, he was hospitalized in Uruguay in 2000 and Buenos Aires in 2004 as fears mounted over his infamously excessive lifestyle.
Maradona underwent drug and alcohol addiction rehabilitation at several stages and also had a stomach-stapling operation in 2005 to help him lose weight.
Widely regarded as one of the finest – if not the finest – players ever to grace the game of football, Maradona led his country to World Cup glory in Mexico in 1986, scoring two iconic goals against bitter rivals England along the way.
As well as being idolized in his homeland, where he played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors and Newell’s Old Boys, Maradona was particularly revered in Italy, where he helped Napoli to two Serie A titles – the first in the club’s history – as well as the UEFA Cup.
Napoli have paid tribute to their former captain by renaming their stadium in his honor.
