The National Police has opened an investigation into the death of the Club Deportivo Tenerife footballer Jesús de Miguel, which is already under judicial supervision, sources from the provincial police station have confirmed to EFE.
The death of the 30-year-old player occurred at the Nuestra Señora de La Candelaria Hospital hours after he suffered a strong impact from Andorra's goalkeeper Jesús Owono in a divided ball in the final minutes of the match played this Monday at the Heliodoro Rodríguez López.
Sources from the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands detail that any death that is not of natural causes, whether by accident or for another reason, entails the official opening of a judicial investigation, as in this case.
The chief prosecutor of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, José Luis Sánchez-Jáuregui, sees it as "very difficult" for criminal proceedings to be opened for the death of footballer Jesús de Miguel, as the blow he received occurred during a play and it will be necessary to wait for what the Sports Disciplinary Committee determines.
In statements to EFE, Sánchez-Jáuregui pointed out that a very old doctrine of the Supreme Court indicates that injuries in sports are not punishable except, obviously, if there has been an aggression by one player against another during a stoppage in play.
The prosecutor specified that, in any case, one must first adhere to what the referee's report records and, subsequently, to what the Sports Disciplinary Committee dictates.
Specifically, he added, it will be necessary to wait to know if it considers that in the play that triggered the fatal outcome there was dangerous or very dangerous play, and if it understands that the blow delivered by Andorra's goalkeeper, Jesús Owono, was with the intention of causing harm or not.
If the family of the deceased player were not in agreement with the conclusions, they could proceed to file a complaint for alleged assault resulting in death, which would lead to an investigation, but the chief prosecutor emphasizes that it would hardly go beyond the classification of less serious reckless homicide.
He explains that it would be a non-intentional homicide, similar to what would happen if, as a result of a push, someone falls and breaks their neck, in an act where there was no intention to kill expressly; that is, reckless homicide.
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