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The body of the late footballer Diego Maradona must be “preserved” in case his DNA is needed in his father’s case, an Argentine court ruled Wednesday.
PHOTO FILE: Argentina football head coach Diego Maradona laughs during their friendly international football match against Scotland at Hampden Park stadium in Glasgow, Scotland November 19, 2008. REUTERS / David Moir (BRITAIN)
BUENOS AIRES: The body of world-class soccer player Diego Maradona must be “preserved” in case his DNA is needed in his father’s case, an Argentine court ruled Wednesday.
Maradona died of a heart attack last month and was buried on November 26 in a cemetery just outside Buenos Aires.
While Maradona’s lawyer had previously told Reuters that DNA samples already exist, the court said the body of the former Boca Juniors and Napoli player should not have been cremated sometime later on forward.
Five well-known children and six with seed requests are part of a complex bequest process in Argentina.
One of the six, Magalí Gil, 25, says she found out two years ago that the football image is her biological father.
The ruling from the National Institution First Instance Court in Civil Matters No. 56 said: “Ms Gil wants an investigation … and for this reason the prosecutor’s office will execute a DNA sample.”
Maradona recognized four children in Argentina and one in Italy, which he had during his time as a player in the country.
(Reporting by Ramiro Scandolo in Buenos Aires, written by Hugh Bronstein in Buenos Aires and Andrew Downie in London; Editing by Peter Rutherford)