Diego Maradona's daughters, Dalma and Gianinna, have reportedly said they will not attend the 'Maradona Cup' tribute match between Barcelona and Boca Juniors in December, and hit out at the commercialisation after the death of their father.
The late football great died in November 2020, aged 60, after suffering a heart attack. At the time, he was recovering from an operation at a clinic to remove a blood clot from his head.
To remember and pay respects to Maradona, two of his former clubs will face each other in Saudi Arabia. He had two spells with Boca, where he retired in 1997, and also enjoyed two years at Barcelona before joining Napoli in 1984.
However, his daughters have since expressed their dismay with the occasion and taken aim the 1986 World Cup winner's former lawyer.
Meetings held to plan for the match used Matias Morla as an intermediary, but he has endured a heated relationship with both Dalma and Gianinna after they accused him of abandoning their father and acting with 'dishonesty'.
According to Cuatro in Spain, Dalma has said: 'This is the guy who approached my father as a fan and now claims to be the owner of my father's image, voice and name, stating that this is not his children.'
In the past, Morla's offices were raided by anti-fraud police, and the legal representative remains locked in a bitter inheritance dispute with Maradona's daughters over the legend's brand and image rights.
Asked about the tension, Morla took aim at Dalma and Gianinna, and claimed they abandoned their father before his death.
'Maradona was abandoned, that's clear,' Morla told America TV. 'He died alone, apart from the sisters with whom he spoke every day and (his ex-girlfriend) Veronica Ojeda, who went to see him with Dieguito Fernando, his son.'
The search of Morla's offices was carried out earlier this year, after a complaint was lodged against him by Dalma and Gianinna on March 12 for fraud. They accused him of 'betrayal, dishonesty and abuse' in his management of Maradona's brand.
Morla, though, believes the daughters' issue centres solely around money.
'Diego said: "The Maradona brand will look after my sisters, the image will look after my heirs",' Morla said, and added that Maradona submitted a signed document to that effect with a court in Dubai in 2015 or 2016.
He went on to add that Dalma and Gianinna 'don't like me because in 2014 we took away their credit cards.'
Meanwhile, Morla has appeared to testify as a witness in the case in which the death of Maradona is being investigated.
Speaking at the prosecutor's office in San Isidro, Buenos Aires, he insisted that the medical treatment given to his client was 'very bad'.
'There were many mistakes made because Diego died, they inflated and inflated the poor guy until his heart exploded,' Morla said, after over three hours of testimony.
Authorities in the northern suburb of the city are delving into the circumstances around Maradona's passing, which took place at a rented home in Tigre. He was under the supervision of a seven-person medical team.
The members, including neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, have already testified in the investigation, which will determine whether there was any malpractice or neglect in Maradona's care.
Prosecutors are exploring whether the iconic star received 'insufficient' care.
The crime of 'simple homicide with eventual intent' can be met with a penalty of between eight and 25 years in prison by the Argentine Justice.
Luque, who performed a successful brain operation on Maradona, and psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, who also treated him, have denied any wrongdoing.
Audio of private conversations between doctors and members of Maradona's entourage, however, were leaked and have suggested that the former playmaker was not properly cared for before his death.
His autopsy revealed that Maradona died in his sleep from acute pulmonary edema, a build-up of fluid in the lungs, linked to congestive heart failure.
The toxicology report detected no alcohol or illegal substances in his system, although psychotropic drugs used to help with anxiety and depression were present.