Statue of Diego Maradona unveiled at Ezeiza airport

Thursday, December 16th 2021 - 09:06 UTC

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The idea came from businessman Eduardo Eurnekian

A real-life statue of former Argentine football legend Diego Maradona was unveiled Wednesday at Buenos Aires' Ezeiza International Airport.

The sculpture, which was created using a 3D printing technique from polyethylene terephthalate, was placed by the company Aeropuertos Argentina 2000, founded by businessman and philanthropist Eduardo Eurnekian, who is also behind the Argentine cemetery for 1982 combatants on the Falkland Islands.

Maradona and Eurnekian were said to be close friends and was reportedly the businessman's idea that a tribute to the footballer is placed at the air terminal.

Maradona's ex-wife Claudia Villafañe, his daughters Dalma and Giannina, and his brother Raúl “Lalo” Maradona have already paid a visit to the statue, which is “the result is a sculpture that mixes passion, art and the latest technology in digital manufacturing to immortalize the star,” who passed away Nov. 25, 2020.

In another development concerning Maradona's death, the employee of the funeral parlor who took a selfie of himself with the player's body has been sentenced to community work plus a fine for the crime of “desecration of a human corpse.”

Diego Molina was convicted Wednesday and sentenced to do community work as well as to donate AR $ 10,000 (US $ 50, at the unofficial exchange rate) to a foundation helping people with drug addictions plus a four-day arrest, it was reported.

“We are satisfied by the ruling and we honor Diego's memory that this savage act does not go unpunished,” said Matías Morla, the lawyer who represented Maradona's sisters, who acted as plaintiffs in the case. Molina was given the maximum penalty for this type of actions.

There are two other defendants in the case who have filed for the nullity of the proceedings. They are expected to receive a similar sentence shortly. “We hope that the appeal filed by the other two defendants will be resolved soon and that they will end up with the same sentence,” Morla said.

Molina was in charge of the arrangements for Maradona's wake at Casa Rosada and took a picture of himself before sealing the coffin. The photograph went viral.