Javier Nicolás

🚨🎙️ Oliver Kahn on Jesús Owono’s life-ending challenge on Jesús de Miguel during the FC Andorra vs Tenerife match. “First of all, I think what happened was terrible. Nobody wants to see something like that on a football pitch, especially when the consequences are this heartbreaking. But I won’t pretend I believe Owono deliberately went out there to hurt Jesús. I’m speaking as someone who spent years playing as a goalkeeper. There are situations where you come off your line, challenge for the ball and instinctively raise your knees to protect yourself in the air. It happens in football, and sometimes those situations end very badly. That doesn’t automatically mean there was an intention to injure somebody. “I’ve been reading some of the comments, and honestly, it’s disturbing to see people calling him a murderer and treating him as though he deliberately took someone’s life. We need to be careful with these accusations. We can criticise the challenge, we can question his decision-making, and we can demand that football authorities examine exactly what happened, but we cannot simply decide what was going through his mind. “Some people are also questioning why he walked away after the collision. But from what I understand of the incident, he walked away after receiving his red card. When he realised the situation was much more serious than he had initially thought, he came back to check on Jesús. We should not ignore that part of what happened when discussing this tragedy. “People need to understand that this could happen to any goalkeeper. You come off your line believing you are going to clear the ball, you make a decision in a split second, and unfortunately, something goes terribly wrong. I’ve been in goal myself. I know how quickly these situations develop. I’m not saying the challenge was right, because it was a terrible incident, but there is a difference between making a dangerous challenge and deliberately wanting to end another person’s life. “My heart goes out to Jesús de Miguel’s family, his teammates and everyone at Tenerife. I cannot imagine the pain they are experiencing, and I sincerely hope they find the strength to get through this difficult time. “Football is a beautiful game, and we should never have to experience this kind of heartbreak. Rest in peace, Jesús. My deepest condolences to everyone who loved him.”