Jesus Owono has change into a worldwide determine in a single day after the goalkeeper’s challenge led to the death of Tenerife forward Jesus de Miguel.
The 30-year-old died in hospital in Santa Cruz on Tuesday morning after struggling a cardiac arrest within the wake of a excessive problem by Andorra goalkeeper Owono in stoppage time of Monday’s La Liga 2 recreation.
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Owono obtained a straight pink card for his problem and has since obtained criticism from around the globe for his half within the tragedy whereas native police are reported to have begun an investigation into the incident,
Who’s Jesus Owono?
The 25-year-old goalkeeper was born in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, however moved to Spain’s Basque Nation as a toddler.
His first membership was Antiguoko, a youth membership in San Sebastian, on the age of eight, however after transferring on to Actual Sociedad, he performed for the Basque Nation’s consultant aspect at under-16 stage.
He joined Alaves in 2017 and labored his means by way of the youth ranks earlier than making his first-team debut in a 1-1 draw towards Actual Sociedad in January 2022, changing into the primary worldwide born in his nation to seem in La Liga.
He went on to make 20 appearances within the league and Copa del Rey however spent final season on mortgage with La Liga 2 aspect Andorra, maintaining six clear sheets in 20 league video games earlier than incomes a everlasting transfer in August and signing a two-year deal.
Owono made his Equatorial Guinea debut shortly after turning 18 in March 2019 and has gone on to symbolize his nation 46 occasions, enjoying each minute of their three group video games within the 2025 AFCON version and each their AFCON 2027 qualifiers towards DR Congo and Sierra Leone in September.
How did Owono react to the collision?
After colliding with De Miguel within the centre circle, Owono didn’t flip again to have a look at his opponent on the bottom however instantly started strolling in direction of the touchline, anticipating the pink card which Manuel Angel Perez Hernandez swiftly brandished.
Nonetheless, as he walked off, after exchanging a handshake with teammate Nacho Quintana, he turned again as medical workers have been beckoned frantically onto the pitch and jogged to affix gamers surrounding De Miguel as he lay prostrate on the turf.
He remained on the sector till he was led away by membership officers and down the tunnel on the similar time that De Miguel was being rushed off the sector on the reverse finish of the stadium on a stretcher to a ready ambulance, with movies posted on-line exhibiting Tenerife followers within the stands chanting ‘murderer’ at Owono for his half within the incident.
Why has Owono obtained on-line abuse?
The response to Owono’s problem on De Miguel is that it was broadly thought-about reckless and utilizing extreme power.
The keeper was standing effectively outdoors his space as 10-man Andorra piled on late strain, searching for to finish an unlikely comeback from 2-0 down with simply seven minutes of regular time remaining.
When the ball was cleared by Tenerife from the sting of their very own field within the air in direction of the midway line, De Miguel appeared favorite to have a transparent run on objective, main Owono to dash ahead and leap to problem him within the air earlier than the ball bounced, together with his knee showing to strike De Miguel within the chest and head.
Some social media customers have referred to as for a life ban from soccer and felony prices to be filed towards Owono, whereas others have flooded his personal profile with racist abuse, insults and feedback of “assassin”.
May Spanish soccer authorities punish Owono?
Sure, they usually nearly actually will.
The Spanish Soccer Federation’s Disciplinary Code suggests a suspension of 4 to 12 matches for gamers discovered to have dedicated violent conduct throughout play, leading to severe damage.
An investigation into the occasions surrounding De Miguel’s loss of life will assess the problem and the context by which it was made earlier than figuring out the punishment.
Can a footballer be charged with negligent manslaughter?
Whereas a extreme sporting punishment appears inevitable, many soccer followers are suggesting that felony prices must also observe.
Studies within the native media in Tenerife on Tuesday afternoon say The Murder Group of the Nationwide Police in Santa Cruz is already investigating the circumstances of De Miguel’s loss of life.
The loss of life of a participant as a result of an act on the sector within the midst of a match is, fortunately, extremely uncommon, and there aren’t any precedents established in a tragic case like this.
The query of prices is prone to be decided by whether or not Owono’s problem meets the brink of felony negligence.
Article 142 of the Spanish Penal Code distinguishes between manslaughter as a result of gross negligence and manslaughter as a result of much less severe negligence.
Gross negligence, if confirmed, can carry a jail sentence of as much as 4 years, whereas the lesser cost carries a high-quality calculated over three to 18 months.
