The National Police, through the Homicide Group, has opened an investigation following the death of the CD Tenerife player Jesús de Miguel after a violent collision with the Andorra goalkeeper, Jesús Owono, which caused cardiorespiratory arrest.
It was the 97th minute between Tenerife and Andorra, when the player saw the opportunity to put his team ahead on the scoreboard and achieve victory at home, but a reckless exit by the rival goalkeeper, Jesús Owono, prevented it. colliding squarely with the knee on the chest of the Canarian team footballer.
The player was left lying on the field of play while Owono was sent off, without being aware of the seriousness of what happened. The alarms went off when they saw that he was in cardiorespiratory arrest, a situation in which he spent up to 20 minutes until he regained his pulse thanks to CPR maneuvers. After this, the match was suspended and the club’s medical services took De Miguel to the Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria University Hospital, where He was admitted to the ICU until he finally died.
It is not the first death that has occurred on the field of play, although it is true that the vast majority are due to cardiac causes, that is, sudden death, while a much smaller number are the result of a physical impact such as what happened yesterday between the Tenerife striker and the Andorra goalkeeper.
What criminal responsibility does Jesús Owono have after colliding with De Miguel?
Despite The National Police, through the Homicide Group, has opened an investigation following the death of the CD Tenerife playerit is most likely that Jesús Owono, Andorra goalkeeper, will not receive any criminal punishment despite the collision that caused the death of the rival footballer.
Fernando Portillo, president of the Independent Judicial Forum, explains exclusively to Onda Cero that “the Supreme Court is not very receptive when it comes to assessing criminal liability for damages, even resulting in death, that are caused during a sporting activity.” “Part of the Supreme Court the voluntary nature with which one decides to participate in that activity, knowing that it generates a risk of physical harm. That is, there is a voluntary assumption that this risk of suffering damage will materialize.”he emphasizes.
It also details that “the TS has generally understood that if it occurs during a gameFor example, time was not stopped, but rather it was materially playing, the damages that have been caused in principle and in general would be outside the scope of criminal liability without prejudice“, of course, of the administrative or sanctioning-sports responsibility that could arise, taking into account the seriousness of what happened.”
Regarding the sports sanction, article 102 of the Disciplinary Code explains, regarding occurring in a violent manner with an opponent, that “occurring in a violent manner with an opponent, during the game, causing harmful or harmful consequences that are considered serious, due to their own nature or due to the inactivity that could be determined, and provided that it does not constitute a major offense, “It will be punished with a suspension of four to twelve games.”
Therefore, he will most likely receive a four-match ban, although, Given the seriousness of the events, he could be exposed to up to eight suspension matches.
The precedents to the case of Jesús de Miguel
Although the majority of tragedies on the playing fields have not been caused by a violent blow, but by sudden death, arrhythmias and undetected heart disease, Several footballers have died due to a collision or a tackle on the field of play.
Among them is the case of goalkeeper José Antonio Gallardo, of CD Málaga, who suffered a clash with Celta’s Brazilian forward, Baltazar. Gallardo suffered a triple fracture of the right parietal muscle and spent three days in a hospital in Vigo. He was discharged as no serious injuries were found, but on January 7, 1987, he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage at home. He fell into a coma and died eight days later.
Another goalkeeper who died from a blow was Serhiy Perkhun. The Ukrainian international goalkeeper for CSKA Moscow died on August 14, 2001, at the age of 23, after suffering a spectacular head to head collision. He was evacuated to the hospital and, after being discharged, shortly after he had to be admitted again and He fell into a coma, until he died fourteen days after the blow.
The footballer Hrvoje Custic, of the Croatian First Division, died in 2008 after hitting his head on a concrete wall, next to the sideline, while playing a game in the country’s national championship. Custic was fighting for a ball and was fouled by an opponent, which made him take two or three steps in the direction of the wall, with which he ended up colliding, suffering a skull fracture.
Also notable is the death in 2017 of Indonesian goalkeeper Choirul Huda, who died after colliding with a defender of the rival team. The goalkeeper arrived at the hospital in critical condition and died of cardiac arrest. In the Indonesian league, Jumadi Abdi also died in 2009, and goalkeeper Akli Fairuz in 2014. The latter lost his life after receiving a violent kick in the abdomen during a match, causing internal injuries and damage to his bladder.
The most recent case is that of Sofiane Loukar, MC Saïda footballer, of the second football division of Algeria, which He died in the middle of the match against ASM Orán after receiving a blow to the headin December 2025. After receiving the first assistance, he returned to the field, but collapsed ten minutes later and did not get up again.
An example that shows the actions of justice in these cases is what happened in 2023. Hockey player Adam Johnson died during a game because an opponent’s skate blade cut his neck. They investigated him for involuntary manslaughter and in the end they did not file charges, because the Prosecutor’s Office understood that it was an accident during the action of the game, not a deliberate attack.
