BUENOS AIRES -- Diego Maradona will have to be examined by a team of psychologists to determine if a return to professional European soccer will affect his rehabilitation from cocaine addiction, his lawyer said Thursday.
Ricardo Gil Lavedra told reporters negotiations to free Maradona from his contract with Napoli club 'have visibly effected him.'
Gil Lavedra said Maradona would meet with psychologists Friday or next week at the latest to determine his mental fitness for a move to Europe.
Maradona, 31, refused to speak to reporters as he entered the main Buenos Aires judicial headquarters Thursday afternoon to report to Judge Amelia Beffaz de Vidal on his ongoing drug treatment -- ordered as part of a suspended sentence for cocaine possession charges following his arrest in April 1991.
Representatives for the midfielder are trying to negotiate his transfer to the Spanish Sevilla club, but the Napoli club rejected the Sevilla offer Wednesday to open discussions.
International soccer officials are slated to debate the question at a meeting next week in Zurich, Switzerland.
In July, Maradona completed a 15-month suspension from professional play after testing positive for cocaine use in a routine post-game drug test. He has refused to resume his contract in Naples, presumably due to a number of Italian court cases pending against him.
