Jesus Owono deserves our support, not to be called a murderer

On Tuesday, I returned to the office after a well-earned leave, only to be met with the news of Jesus de Miguel’s passing.

Not that I know him personally, but I always find it sad when a young footballer loses his life, especially if it happened on the pitch. 

Although in De Miguel’s case, he did not die on the pitch immediately, his death was as a result of what happened on the pitch. 

The 30-year-old suffered head and chest injuries following a collision with Jesus Owono in Tenerife’s clash against FC Andorra. 

While his condition was declared stable and not serious after he was taken to the hospital on Monday night, his health got worse in the early hours of Tuesday before dying in the morning. 

However, while his death was tragic and will be hard to recover from, especially for his loved ones, we should also spare a moment for Owono, who was on the other side of the challenge that cost de Miguel his life. 

Initially, after the news of the 30-year-old’s death was announced, I told my colleagues that Owono should be banned for life. 

It was what I believed at that moment because I thought his action had cost the life of another young man, made a woman a widow and left a child fatherless. 

Also, I said he should not be allowed to play again, knowing that his tackle ended not just another player's career but his life.

This view was also shared by many people on social media, with some even saying he should do jail time for murder. 

He has already been subjected to racial abuse, forcing him to shut down his Instagram page.

However, after having a deep reflection, I realised that my initial position was wrong and Owono should not be banned for life. 

Although many still hold that view, it will be an emotional decision rather than a logical one. I can understand the family of De Miguel feeling this way because they lost a loved one, but it still does not mean Owono’s career should suffer, or that he should go to jail because of his actions. 

This is because the Equatorial Guinea goalkeeper never intended to kill De Miguel, even if many still insist the tackle was intentional. 

No matter what we think of the tackle, which did look bad on first viewing, the 25-year-old goalkeeper never set out to kill someone on the football pitch. 

He was trying to save his team and should not be made an outcast for his actions. The moment he is banned for life or prosecuted, it means we are no longer punishing the action but the outcome. 

It is important to note that Owono deserves to be punished, but his punishment should be proportionate to his actions, not the outcome. 

The 25-year-old is not the first goalkeeper to make a similar tackle, but no one has ever called for a lifetime ban for any of these goalkeepers.

Football is a contact sport, and we see these challenges in every match. It’s only unfortunate that Owono’s challenge [even if it was malicious] led to the death of another player.

However, as tragic as it is, the 25-year-old should not be overly punished for something he never intended to do. 

He is aware of the situation and will most likely carry the burden for the rest of his life, but we should not make it worse by taking his career or livelihood away from him.