Jesús de Miguel, a striker for CD Tenerife, died on Tuesday morning after spending the night battling the consequences of the devastating blow he suffered during the previous day’s match against FC Andorra. The visiting goalkeeper, Jesús Owono, came far out of his penalty area to stop a counterattack, jumped with his knee leading and collided with the forward; his right fist also struck him in the head. He was sent off. De Miguel needed urgent medical attention and was taken to hospital after suffering a cardiorespiratory arrest. The match was abandoned. It was a football match. Nobody should lose their life contesting a ball. It should not have been all or nothing, a case of “the ball or the player”, as football jargon so often puts it…
Faced with a tragedy like this, we should avoid attributing to Owono any intention to cause this tragic outcome, or turning grief and anger into a verdict against him. But neither should we describe it as entirely accidental to shut down any reflection on how dangerous an action can be. The absence of an intention to cause such harm does not make every challenge acceptable. There is a space between criminalising an athlete and justifying everything as part of the game. And that applies to every area of life.
Contact has limits too
Football is a contact sport. There are collisions, falls, challenges and decisions made in a split second. There is no such thing as zero risk. But acknowledging that does not mean normalising every risk. Coming out to stop an attack with a raised knee deserves scrutiny beyond whether the ball is touched or whether the offence warrants a red card. An opponent’s body cannot become an acceptable price to pay for preventing a chance. Yet this happens all too often in amateur football, where some people lose sight of what the game is about.
We routinely applaud expressions such as “he had to be stopped at any cost”, “he couldn’t be allowed through” or “you have to put your life on the line”. These are phrases we use without thinking, usually without wishing anyone harm, but they help construct and normalise a particular understanding of competition. The objective takes over, and the limits are reduced to whatever the referee allows or punishes. An athlete’s responsibility does not end where the punishment begins. Some actions must be avoided because of the danger they pose, even if they could prevent a decisive goal.
Pressure cannot erase the person
We do not know what went through Owono’s mind at that moment. This tragedy cannot be presented as proof of an individual’s intent. We can, however, use the shock to examine a culture that sometimes confuses commitment with a loss of control, and competitiveness with an absence of limits. That reflection belongs to football, to every other sport and to a society that rewards results while paying far too little attention to the means. Pressure may explain a decision; it does not justify it.
Jesús de Miguel had a life that was supposed to continue after that match. That is something everyone who steps onto a pitch, a court or into a sports hall shares, even if all we see during competition are shirts, opponents and obstacles. Remembering this must be part of sporting education from the very first training session, before discussing victories, promotions or contracts. You can lose the ball, concede a goal. You can lose a match. What cannot be accepted as a requirement of the job is putting someone else in danger. It was football. Full stop. Sport.
Last related articles
