Andorra Keeper Owono Banned 12 Games After Rival’s Death

(MENAFN) FC Andorra goalkeeper Jesus Owono has been hit with a 12-match ban, the maximum penalty, by the Spanish Football Federation’s disciplinary committee, which ruled Friday on the collision that preceded the death of Tenerife striker Jesus de Miguel.

Owono was sent off in the Nov. 2 second-division match after charging toward midfield to clear a high ball and colliding with de Miguel. The 30-year-old suffered cardiac arrest and was rushed to the hospital, where he died the following day.

The committee said its judgment had to rest on the referee’s written account. “The assessment of the conduct under consideration in these proceedings must be based on the facts expressly recorded in the referee’s report, which states that the player was sent off for ‘violently striking an opponent in the chest with his leg, using excessive force, while the ball was in play’,” said a committee statement.

The panel also acknowledged the fatal outcome. “The tragic outcome of the incident, resulting in the death of Jesus de Miguel Alameda, is public knowledge,” it added.

It then justified the penalty. “In view of the nature of the conduct described and the accompanying circumstances … the maximum sanction, 12 matches of suspension, is justified.”

Owono, an Equatorial Guinea international, described the aftermath in a statement released by his club last week, calling it the “hardest days of my life.”

“I struggle to find the words, and it is very difficult for me to process anything that has happened,” said Owono in a statement published by his club last week.

“I feel immense pain over the loss of Jesus. I think of him, of his family, and of all the people who loved him.”

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