Keeper defended after De Miguel's death - 'He would never intend to hurt anyone'

Owono was sent off for the clash having raced from his goal and struck 30-year-old De Miguel at force, with the Tenerife player subsequently suffering a cardiac arrest. There has been shock and grief across football following the tragic incident, while Spanish police have opened an investigation into possible involuntary manslaughter.

That is, though, standard practice under Spanish law and Santa Cruz de Tenerife chief prosecutor Jose Luis Sanchez-Jauregui told Spanish news agency EFE that criminal proceedings were "very unlikely". Andorra's Argentinian defender Lautaro Spatz took to Instagram to pay tribute to De Miguel but also to defend Owono, who has deleted his account on the social media platform.

Spatz called De Miguel's death "a tragedy that has left us completely broken, without words and with a sadness difficult to explain". The 25-year-old continued: "I also want to have some words for my team-mate, goalkeeper and friend, who is deeply affected by what happened."

Those of us who know him know the type of person he is, how much he is suffering in these moments and that he would never intend to hurt anyone." In football, unfortunate incidents happen but no-one could imagine that one of these could end in such tragic circumstances." Fans gathered at Tenerife's Heliodoro Rodriguez Lopez stadium to lay tributes to De Miguel, with the club declaring six days of official mourning.

A memorial service will be held at the ground on Saturday evening for the striker, with supporters invited to attend. Tuesday's domestic Spanish games were called off as a mark of respect but Champions League matches went ahead, including Barcelona's clash with Aston Villa at the Nou Camp. A minute's silence was held ahead of the contest, which Barca won 3-0, with Raphinha scoring twice.

Speaking to CBS Sports afterwards, the Brazilian refused to talk about the game, saying: "I want to send a lot of strength to the family of Jesus. Today I'm not going to talk about football." For me, the truth is it was quite difficult (to play). After seeing the news, of course I didn't have good feelings. He's a fellow player and it could have happened to anyone, it could have happened to me."

He was the same age as me, I don't know if that's why it affected me more. It's been a difficult day. Personally, it touched me a lot." The Tenerife match was suspended after the incident, which occurred in stoppage time, with distressed players calling for immediate medical attention.

A statement from Tenerife announcing De Miguel's death read: "We stand alongside his devastated family, alongside his loved ones… that today weep for this cruel outcome." In their own statement on Tuesday evening, Andorra said the club were "deeply shocked", adding: "The first thing we want to do is express our most sincere condolences to his family, CD Tenerife and all those who were close to him."

We know that no words can ease such pain, but we want them to know that we are by their side and that we deeply share their sadness."

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