Goalkeeper Owono’s 12-match ban feels light – Tenerife coach

Detailed summary

Tenerife manager Álvaro Cervera says the 12-match ban for FC Andorra’s Jesús Owono feels light after the death of striker Jesús de Miguel. Read More:…

Tenerife manager Álvaro Cervera has admitted that the 12-match suspension handed to FC Andorra goalkeeper Jesús Owono might feel light considering the tragic death of Tenerife forward Jesús de Miguel.

Owono, 25, was sent off after colliding with De Miguel during the closing stages of the Spanish second-tier encounter between FC Andorra and Tenerife on November 2.

De Miguel, 30, died the following day, leaving both clubs and the football community mourning his loss.

The Spanish football federation’s disciplinary committee confirmed Owono’s 12-match ban on Friday, handing him the maximum punishment permitted under the existing regulations.

However, the committee explained that it could only consider the incident on the pitch and not the tragic outcome.

As reported by BBC Sport on Saturday, speaking ahead of Tenerife’s first match since De Miguel’s death, against Ceuta on Sunday, Cervera said he understood the decision to follow the established regulations.

“I think that, just as in other areas of life, there are rules or laws that must be followed,” he said.

“Since the current regulations don’t specifically account for what happened, I believe they have simply adhered to the rules and imposed the number of matches permitted by the regulations.

“Anything else I might say would just be my own personal opinion, which I’ll keep to myself. It might seem a bit light when compared to other cases, but in reality, I don’t think the rules allow for anything else.”

Opening of the article, excerpted from Punch. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.