Tenerife boss Alvaro Cervera says Jesus Owono ban ‘may seem lenient’

Tenerife manager Alvaro Cervera says Jesus Owono’s 12-match suspension is understandable under the existing rules, although he acknowledged the punishment may appear lenient given the tragic outcome of the incident.

Andorra goalkeeper Owono, 25, was sent off after colliding with Tenerife forward Jesus de Miguel during the closing stages of their Spanish second-tier match on 2 November. De Miguel died the following day, aged nearly 30.

The Spanish Football Federation’s disciplinary committee announced the suspension on Friday. It was the maximum penalty available for the offence considered by the committee, whose jurisdiction was limited to the incident on the pitch and did not extend to the tragic consequences that followed.

Owono was dismissed for “kicking an opponent with excessive force in the chest area, using his leg, while the ball was in play”, according to the referee’s report, which formed the basis of the disciplinary decision.

Tenerife will face Atletico Ceuta on Sunday in their first match since De Miguel’s death. Speaking at the news conference before that game, Cervera said the committee had been required to apply the regulations as they stand.

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

“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 a personal opinion, which I will keep to myself.”

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

Tenerife coping with loss

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

“When we are together, things go well, whether during training or within the group. I feel the team is gradually beginning to recover its usual atmosphere, but what we do not know is how each individual feels when they are alone, and that is extremely important,” he said.

“Everyone has their own way of dealing with what happened and their own thoughts occupying them. Some find support from their families at home, while others are facing it alone. We are moving forward, but the process is very slow. It is a difficult and complicated experience.”

Cervera said he was unsure whether all of his players were ready to return to competitive football. For some, playing may offer a way to cope with their grief and take their minds off the tragedy, 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 recognise that things will not truly be normal at the moment.

“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 go through in life. It is constantly present in our thoughts, and yet we have to keep moving forward.”