The football world is paying tribute to Jesus de Miguel, as it mourns the loss of the Tenerife forward, who died on Tuesday following an on-field collision during a Spanish second division match. The 30-year-old was challenged by Andorra goalkeeper Jesus Owono, whose knee appeared to strike de Miguel in the chest. Medical staff tended to him on-field before he was sent to a hospital, where he suffered a cardiac arrest in the ambulance.
There is absolutely nothing to mitigate this feeling full of sadness,” Tenerife said in a statement as they confirmed his death on Tuesday morning. The club announced six days of official mourning during which all club activity would be suspended. Its players, staff and officials will attend de Miguel’s funeral, which will take place in the village of Navahermosa, Toledo, in central Spain.
Tenerife will hold a tribute for de Miguel at its home ground, Heliodoro Stadium, on Saturday at 6 pm local time. The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) postponed all domestic matches on Tuesday as a sign of respect and later extended the suspension until Friday, November 6. European football’s governing body, UEFA, announced that a minute’s silence would be observed at all Champions League matches this week.
In that silence, our hearts and thoughts are with his family, his teammates, everyone at CD Tenerife, and all those who mourn this tragic loss,” UEFA said in a statement. The tributes began with Barcelona and Aston Villa on Tuesday night, where victims of last week’s train accident in Toledo that killed 69 people were also remembered. The Champions League anthem was also not played as a mark of respect.
In the end, he was a fellow football player. This could have happened to any of us. It could have happened to me,” he added.
He was a player who was the same age as me. Maybe that’s why it affected me so much.” Ahead of the match between Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich, a screen showed a portrait of de Miguel, smiling with his arms outstretched as he ran on the pitch. Social media was flooded with condolences from football clubs and fans across the world as they honoured de Miguel.
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