![\"\"](\"https:\/\/valloni.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Red-Card-VALLONI-2026-1024x576.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The death of Jes\u00fas de Miguel is a terrible tragedy for the world of sport and the remarks that follow are made entirely without prejudice to the official handling by the Spanish authorities and the final outcome of this case.<\/p>\n
On 2 November 2026, during the match between CD Tenerife and FC Andorra, Tenerife forward Jes\u00fas de Miguel collided with the Andorra goalkeeper, Jes\u00fas Owono. De Miguel later died. The referee sent Owono off, and his report, as quoted in the press, describes a challenge with „his leg high against an opponent with excessive force<\/em>„.<\/p>\n The Fiscal\u00eda Provincial de Santa Cruz de Tenerife has opened an investigation on its own initiative, and the Polic\u00eda Nacional homicide unit is making inquiries.<\/p>\n Nobody has been detained and no cause of death has been made public.<\/p>\n Opening an investigation does not mean that a crime has been committed.<\/p>\n Football is a contact sport. A hard tackle, even a reckless one, is normally a matter for the referee and the disciplinary committee.<\/p>\n Criminal law only steps in when the conduct goes clearly beyond what the game tolerates. A red card, in itself, says nothing about criminal responsibility.<\/p>\n Two offences are being discussed in the press in the Jes\u00fas de Miguel case.<\/p>\n The more realistic one is negligent homicide under Article 142 of the Spanish Criminal Code. If the negligence is serious, the penalty is one to four years in prison; if it is less serious, imprisonment of three to eighteen months. The court would examine how the play developed and whether the goalkeeper failed to take the care expected in a challenge for the ball.<\/p>\n Intentional homicide under Article 138 of the Spanish Criminal Code, which is punishable with imprisonment of ten to fifteen years, looks much harder to sustain. Intent cannot be inferred simply from a hard tackle or a fatal result, and wanting to hurt an opponent is not the same as wanting to kill them.<\/p>\n Then, there is the question of causation. Even if the tackle was careless, the prosecution must prove that it caused the death, and the fact that one followed the other is not enough. Until the autopsy, the medical records and the video footage are analysed, that question remains open.<\/p>\n The most obvious person is the goalkeeper, who could face both criminal and civil liability if his challenge is found to be negligent and to have caused the death. His club, FC Andorra, could also be liable as his employer for acts carried out in the course of his work under Article 120.4 of the Spanish Criminal Code and Article 1903 of the Spanish Civil Code.<\/p>\n It is also necessary to look closely at what happened after the collision. According to press reports, investigators are examining the protocol followed by the Red Cross and by the club’s medical services. The ambulance reportedly could not enter the pitch because an access mechanism was not activated, and a doctor at the hospital questioned how resources were coordinated in the stadium.<\/p>\n None of this has been confirmed, and no club has been blamed. But if it were shown that the emergency response fell short and that this contributed to the death, other parties could come into the picture: CD Tenerife, as host of the match and as the player’s employer; the medical and emergency staff; and the competition organiser or stadium operator if the rules on medical cover were not met. In that case, liability could be shared between the collision and the response.<\/p>\n The family could claim compensation for the death, including moral damage and loss of financial support. They could do so within the criminal proceedings, under Articles 109 and 116 of the Spanish Criminal Code, where employers can be held liable alongside the person convicted and insurers can be sued directly, or in a separate civil claim under Article 1902 of the Spanish Civil Code. An acquittal in the criminal case does not automatically close the civil route. Amounts are set case by case, and insurance will largely decide who pays.<\/p>\n A professional player’s death during a match is, in principle, an occupational accident. His family may be entitled to Social Security benefits, which can be increased by 30% to 50%, paid by the employer, if safety measures were not respected, under Article 164 of the Spanish General Social Security Law.<\/p>\n In parallel, the sporting authorities can open disciplinary proceedings. Under Article 99 of the Spanish Law 39\/2022 on Sport, facts that may be criminal must be passed to the judicial authority or the Public Prosecutor, and sporting and criminal sanctions have to respect the principle of ne bis in idem<\/em>. That is: no one can be prosecuted, tried, or punished twice for the same offence or the same conduct.<\/p>\n Everything depends upon two things: what caused the death; and whether a challenge made in the course of play went beyond the risk that the game accepts.<\/p>\n The emergency response could add other responsible parties, but only if it is shown to have influenced the result.<\/p>\n For now, any firm conclusions in the Jes\u00fas de Miguel case would, of course, be entirely premature.<\/p>\n We act in criminal and civil negligence cases in sport in Spain and elsewhere, and further information is available from the Head of our Spanish Law Practice, Pablo P\u00e9rez, and our Managing Partner, Dr Lucien Valloni, by emailing them at<\/strong> perez@valloni.ch<\/strong><\/a> and <\/strong>valloni@valloni.ch<\/strong><\/a> respectively.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What happened The death of Jes\u00fas de Miguel is a terrible tragedy for the world of sport and the remarks that follow are made entirely without prejudice to the official handling by the Spanish authorities and the final outcome of this case. On 2 November…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[639,876,303,877,878],"class_list":["post-26011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-de","tag-sportslaw-valloni","tag-crime","tag-football-de","tag-foul","tag-spanishlaw"],"yoast_head":"\nWhen does a foul become a crime?<\/h2>\n
Who could be held responsible<\/h2>\n
Compensation for the family<\/h2>\n
Employment and sporting consequences<\/h2>\n
In short<\/h2>\n