Jesus de Miguel's tragic death: Wrong footballer faces racist abuse

A footballer in Spain has revealed that he has been receiving racist abuse, insults and threats after being mistaken for the goalkeeper involved in the tragic collision that claimed the life of Tenerife striker Jesús de Miguel.

Michel Owono, a defender for FC Can Vidalet, has been targeted on social media because he shares the same surname as FC Andorra goalkeeper Jesús Owono.

The Andorra goalkeeper was involved in a collision with De Miguel during Monday's Spanish second division match. The Tenerife striker suffered a cardiac arrest and died on Tuesday morning, aged 30.

Michel, who had absolutely no involvement in the incident, took to Instagram to clarify the situation and share screenshots of the abusive messages he had received.

The defender expressed his disappointment at the racism, hatred and intolerance directed towards him.

He questioned how people could judge, insult or threaten someone because of their skin colour or background.

Michel also stressed that football should bring people together rather than divide them, adding that hatred and discrimination have no place in sport or society.

Despite being wrongly targeted, he extended his condolences to De Miguel's family, friends and teammates.

Meanwhile, Jesus Owono has reportedly closed his social media accounts after receiving a wave of abuse following the tragic incident.

According to Spanish media, the goalkeeper was devastated by what happened and was seen crying and praying in the dressing room.

Owono was shown a straight red card following the collision, which occurred during stoppage time with the score at 2-2.

The tragedy has left Spanish football in mourning, while the abuse directed at both players has raised concerns about the behaviour of some supporters on social media. The targedy was an unfortunate incident but racism is a virus.