Spain Mourns Tenerife Striker De Miguel at Funeral as Autopsy Gives Cause of Death

Photo: Andrea Comas, AP via Al Jazeera

Spain said goodbye to Jesus de Miguel on Thursday, three days after the Tenerife striker died from a collision on the pitch. His funeral drew the Spain coach, the Real Madrid president and hundreds of mourners to the small town of Navahermosa, and an autopsy has now given the cause of death as accidental chest trauma.

The service was held in Navahermosa, a town of about 3,000 people in central Spain where De Miguel's parents were born. A hearse covered in flowers moved slowly towards the church as dozens of mourners, some carrying candles, walked behind it. The town hall declared three days of mourning, with flags at half-staff, Al Jazeera reported.

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente and Real Madrid president Florentino Perez were among those who attended, along with Spanish football federation president Rafael Louzan and Atletico Madrid chief executive Miguel Angel Gil Marin. De la Fuente said the game's community "stands united" in grief.

De Miguel was 30. He was challenging for a high ball near the halfway line on Monday when Andorra goalkeeper Jesus Owono rushed out of his area to clear it. Owono's knee struck De Miguel in the chest. He suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch and was taken to hospital, where he died on Tuesday morning at about 8am, Reuters reported.

The match, a Spanish second division game tied 2-2, was abandoned in stoppage time. Owono was shown a straight red card, and the referee's report said he used "excessive force" in the challenge.

The first autopsy findings were shared on Thursday. The Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences in Santa Cruz de Tenerife found De Miguel died from "accidental chest trauma", local outlets El Dia and Canarias7 reported, and the findings were sent to the court overseeing the inquiry. Toxicology results are still to come, People reported.

Spanish police have opened a routine investigation into possible involuntary manslaughter, the standard step when a death is not from natural causes. Investigators will look at whether the challenge went beyond normal play, though the local chief prosecutor has said criminal proceedings are unlikely, since the collision happened during the course of the game.

Questions are also being asked about the treatment De Miguel received on the pitch. Team medical staff reached him 20 seconds after he went down, but it is still not clear what care he received in the five minutes he lay on the pitch, how quickly CPR was started, or whether a defibrillator was used. Spain's association of emergency nurses said it was seeking more information, the Associated Press reported.

Football across Spain has stopped to mark his death. The Spanish federation called off all domestic matches on Tuesday and extended the suspension until Friday 6 November. Tenerife's match against Granada and Andorra's game with Mallorca, both due this weekend, have been postponed. Tenerife announced six days of official mourning, and fans have laid flowers, lit candles and pinned up photographs outside gate 9 of the Heliodoro Rodriguez Lopez stadium, where the collision happened.

It has been a hard week for football. Cristiano Ronaldo announced his retirement from international football on Thursday, while Pakistan lost 3-2 to India in their SAFF opener after a late fightback. And in Brazil, a youth match set a world record with 53 red cards after a mass brawl.

Sources

• Al Jazeera: Photos, Spain mourns Jesus de Miguel, who died after on-pitch collision
• Reuters: Family and teammates mourn Tenerife striker De Miguel at funeral
• Associated Press via New Indian Express: Questions arise over emergency treatment given to Spanish soccer player in fatal collision
• People: Cause of death revealed for 30-year-old soccer player who died after colliding with opponent

Tenerife will hold a tribute for De Miguel at their home ground on Saturday evening.

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