FC Andorra goalkeeper Jesus Owono has received a 12-match ban from the Spanish football federation’s disciplinary committee following the challenge that led to the death of Tenerife forward Jesus de Miguel.
Owono, 25, was shown a red card after a collision with De Miguel late in the second-tier match between the two clubs on 2 November.
De Miguel passed away the next day at the age of 30.
The disciplinary committee stated that its ruling had to be based “on the facts expressly recorded in the referee’s report,” which said 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.’
“The tragic outcome of the incident, resulting in the death of Jesus de Miguel Alameda, is public knowledge.”
The committee went on to say that the “nature of the conduct described and the accompanying circumstances” mean that “the maximum sanction, a 12-match suspension, is justified.”
In a separate decision, the federation has ruled that the match between the two teams, which was abandoned seven minutes into stoppage time when the incident happened, will not be replayed.
“This avoids having to resume play from the precise moment at which the tragic incident occurred,” it said.
The sides were level at 2-2 when the game was stopped, and that score will now stand, with a federation committee describing it as the “most respectful course of action, given the extraordinary and tragic circumstances of this case.”
On 4 November, Owono’s club released a statement on the goalkeeper’s behalf in which he said he was going through “the most difficult days” of his life and felt “enormous pain” over De Miguel’s death.
On Thursday, FC Andorra manager Carles Manso said that Equatorial Guinea international Owono has not yet decided whether he will return to football after the incident.
Manso said Owono is currently spending time with his family and is “completely free to make any decision” about a possible return, adding: “What we have to do is support him in every way and be close to him.
“We will give him space so that he feels completely free to make any decision, whether he wants to return, when, or if he does not want to return.
“When he feels it is appropriate and when he feels genuinely ready to take a decision like that [he will do so].”
