The world of football has come together to mourn the death of Tenerife striker Jesus de Miguel.
The forward suffered head and chest injuries in a heavy collision with goalkeeper Jesus Owono during a Spanish second division match against FC Andorra on Monday.
De Miguel’s condition was described as stable but serious on Monday, but his health deteriorated on Tuesday morning and the Spaniard died at 07:00 GMT.
A minute’s silence was held before Tuesday evening’s Champions League matches across Europe.
That will be repeated for Wednesday’s fixtures, as well as all Europa League and Conference League matches this week.
Mourners laid flowers and lit candles beneath a black and white image of De Miguel at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodriguez Lopez, Tenerife’s home ground.
Tenerife said in a statement on Tuesday evening they will commence six official days of mourning, with all club activities suspended during this time.
The club’s players, staff and officials will attend De Miguel’s funeral, which will take place in Navahermosa, Toledo.
Tenerife will also open their home ground on Saturday evening to allow supporters to “bid a fitting farewell”.
“Jesus de Miguel’s family would like to thank everyone for their messages of support and, from the bottom of their hearts, ask that their privacy be respected at this terrible time. May he rest in peace,” added the statement.
“We are torn by the news,” said Fran Leon, president of Tenerife’s federation of supporters’ clubs.
“All of the island is in mourning. All of Canarias is in mourning. It’s a shared pain.”
Fan David Tejera said De Miguel’s “effort” and “passion” for Tenerife would endure.
“You are already part of the blue and white history,” he said.
Tenerife and Andorra were tied 2-2 seven minutes into stoppage time when the incident occurred.
Owono ran towards the centre circle to clear a long ball when his knee appeared to collide with De Miguel.
The striker lay motionless on the pitch as medical staff treated him before he was taken by ambulance from Tenerife’s ground to hospital.
Players from both teams were visibly distressed by the incident, with a number of De Miguel’s team-mates in tears.
‘Very difficult moment’ for Owono
Reuters reported on Tuesday that police in Spain have opened an investigation for possible involuntary manslaughter following De Miguel’s death.
Under Spanish law, any death that is deemed non-natural automatically triggers a judicial inquiry.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife chief prosecutor Jose Luis Sanchez-Jauregui told Spanish news agency EFE that criminal proceedings were “very unlikely”.
The referee showed Owono a straight red card before abandoning the match.
The goalkeeper, who had over 30,000 followers on Instagram on Tuesday morning, has since deactivated his account.
Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho expressed his sadness over the incident and said it is a “very, very difficult moment” for Owono.
“I think it’s something very shocking for the world in general, so imagine for the world of football, for people like us who are on the pitch competing every day,” he said.
“It’s hard, it’s sad. Obviously, all our words and feelings go out to the family and friends of the player who passed away, and I also think this has to be a very, very, very difficult moment for the other player [Owono] involved in the situation.
“It’s sad for everyone.”
After scoring twice in Barcelona’s win over Aston Villa, Brazilian forward Raphinha said: “Today I don’t want to talk about football, I want to send a message to the family of Jesus – may he rest in peace.
“From the club, I want to send a message of strength to the family.”
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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
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