Spanish football is in mourning. CD Tenerife forward Jesús de Miguel Alameda has died at 30, one day after a stoppage-time collision with FC Andorra goalkeeper Jesús Owono, the club confirmed Tuesday.
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What happened on the pitch
Tenerife hosted Andorra on Monday at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López in a Segunda División (LaLiga Hypermotion) matchday 12 game. A heavy-rain alert had already pushed it back a day, according to RTVE. Andorra came back from 0-2 with goals in the 80th and 87th minutes to make it 2-2, per Marca.
Deep in stoppage time, around the 97th minute according to El Correo, BBC Mundo and AP, Owono raced out toward the centre circle and his knee struck De Miguel. RTVE and El Correo described the impact as hitting the chest area, while BBC Mundo reported head and chest injuries. Owono was shown a straight red card. In his match report, cited by El Correo, referee Manuel Ángel Pérez wrote that the keeper struck an opponent "with his leg raised… using excessive force."
A fight for his life
El Correo and Marca reported that De Miguel went into cardiorespiratory arrest and was revived with CPR in the ambulance before he was admitted to intensive care at Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de Candelaria. Players from both sides agreed to halt the match at minute 108 after roughly 10 minutes without play, RTVE and Marca reported.
On Monday night Tenerife said he was "stable despite the severity of his condition." Early Tuesday the club reported that his condition had worsened neurologically. He died at 8:00 a.m. local time, the club said.
The tributes
Tenerife's statement, as translated by RTÉ, said the club was "racked with pain, with a lump in our throats and unable to believe that this is true," and asked for privacy for his family. FC Andorra said it was writing "with broken hearts and devastated," per RTÉ and AS. LaLiga expressed its "deep sadness," and league president Javier Tebas said he was "deeply saddened" by "an irreparable loss," according to EFE.
Owono's side
AS and COPE reported that Owono was seen crying and praying in the locker room after the match, as some fans shouted "murderer" at him. He has deactivated his Instagram account. People close to the 25-year-old Equatorial Guinea international told AS there was no intent to harm and that he wants to apologize to De Miguel's family privately first.
Rest in peace, Jesús.
