Owono ban: Tenerife manager says football rules left no room for harsher sanction

Tenerife manager Alvaro Cervera says Jesus Owono’s 12-match suspension for a challenge that preceded the death of Jesus de Miguel “may seem a little lenient”, but believes the Spanish Football Federation’s disciplinary committee could not impose a different punishment under its existing regulations.

Owono, a 25-year-old goalkeeper who plays for Andorra, was sent off after colliding with Tenerife striker de Miguel during the closing stages of their Spanish Segunda Division match on 2 November. De Miguel died the following day at the age of 30.

The federation’s disciplinary committee announced the suspension on Friday. It is the maximum ban available for the on-field offence examined by the panel, which did not have authority to take the tragic outcome into account when applying the relevant rules.

Cervera was speaking before Tenerife’s match against Ceuta on Sunday, the club’s first game since de Miguel’s death.

“I think that, as in all areas of life, there are rules and laws that must be followed,” said Cervera.

“Because the current regulations do not contain a specific provision covering what happened, I believe the disciplinary committee simply applied the rules and imposed the number of matches permitted by the regulations.

“Anything else I might say would only be my personal opinion, and I will keep that to myself.”

He added: “The punishment may seem somewhat lenient compared with other cases, but I honestly do not think the regulations allow a different sanction to be imposed.”

The committee said its decision was based on the referee’s report, which stated that Owono had been dismissed for “kicking an opponent with excessive force in the chest area, using his leg, while the ball was in play”.

Tenerife players still processing loss

Cervera, 61, also described the team’s return to training and preparations for the match as “difficult and complex”.

“When we are together, things go well, whether in training or within the group,” he said. “I feel the team is gradually recovering its usual atmosphere. But we do not know how each individual feels when they are alone, and that is very important.”

The manager said players were dealing with the bereavement in different ways. Some had the support of their families at home, while others were facing it alone, he explained.

“We are moving forward, but the process is very slow. It is a difficult and complex experience,” Cervera said.

He remains unsure whether all of his players are ready to return to competitive football. For some, playing may offer a way to cope with their grief and provide a distraction, while others may not yet feel mentally prepared to compete.

“Both positions are logical and understandable,” he said. “On the one hand, we want to return to some kind of normality, even though we know things will not truly return to normal at this time.

“We cannot simply put what happened to one side or remove it from our minds so that we can focus on work. It is not like other situations we may experience in life. It is constantly present in our thoughts, but we still have to keep moving forward.”