A bouquet of flowers marked the spot on the pitch where Jesus De Miguel fell five days earlier. His teammates returned to the stadium dressed in all black. Above them hung a banner that read “Eterno Demi 9” – Demi 9 forever – a reference to the number nine’s nickname.

In the stands, supporters chanted the name they had once roared to celebrate his goals for CD Tenerife. On Saturday, it was a wail to bid him goodbye.

Thousands gathered at the Heliodoro Rodriguez Lopez stadium in Santa Cruz, the capital of Tenerife in the Spanish Canary Islands, where the forward suffered a collision on Monday that resulted in his tragic death. Silence gave way to applause before the club’s centenary anthem was played.

‘Tremendously unfair’

On the makeshift stage, captain Enric Gallego struggled through his farewell speech.

He recalled a teammate so reluctant to inconvenience others that, when his car broke down, he walked home without asking for help.

“To speak of you in the past tense is tremendously unfair,” Gallego said, pausing to regain composure.

“It’s still hard to believe that this has happened to us, Demi, ⁠⁠⁠you’ll always be one of us. We’re still struggling to come to terms with the fact that you won’t be with us again.” ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌

Thundering applause greeted De Miguel’s parents, sister, wife and daughter – a family coping with its loss publicly, but alongside thousands who had gathered to share their grief.

Addressing the bereaved family, Gallego promised that De Miguel’s 18-month-old daughter, Carla, would grow up knowing what her father had meant to those around him.

The club has pledged to financially support Carla until she turns 18.

The solidarity erased the lines of football rivalry across the islands as Ultra Naciente, a supporters’ group from UD Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, placed a wreath on the pitch before the ceremony.

For Jose Diaz Muros, president of Tenerife supporters’ group Pena Iberica, the loss felt personal.

“When a player becomes part of your team, he also becomes part of your life: the conversations at home, the weekends and the memories you share with your family,” he told Al Jazeera.

“That is why a loss like this feels so close, even if you did not know him personally.”

‘Space to grieve’

De Miguel’s death was confirmed on Tuesday, hours after he was taken to hospital following a collision with Andorra goalkeeper Jesus Owono during Tenerife’s second-division match.

The tragedy has not only brought together football clubs all over Spain, but also raised questions about the response by Spanish football authorities to requests by players for a grieving period.

The Spanish players’ union, AFE, said footballers consulted across the categories unanimously favoured postponement because they did not feel emotionally ready to compete.

Las Palmas defender Alex Suarez expressed that distress publicly: “My head is not in football”.

Three Segunda fixtures were postponed, alongside a women’s match involving Costa Adeje Tenerife, but there was no blanket suspension of games.

The federation’s competition judge ruled AFE’s request inadmissible, saying the decision belonged to La Liga and Spanish football’s top division did not postpone its fixtures.

The governing bodies organised commemorative shirts, floral offerings, pre-match silence and pauses from the ninth minute, honouring De Miguel’s shirt number. Their joint statement presented the tributes as a way to remember him with dignity and respect.

While tributes were paid, AFE’s concerns remained unanswered and football played on.

“There was recognition of the grief, but the collective request was not met in full,” Albert Ortega, a Spanish football expert, told Al Jazeera.

Ortega believes that players’ emotional wellbeing still has less power to alter the calendar than institutional statements suggest. But he cautioned against assuming commercial interests alone explained the decision.

“We cannot demonstrate that money was the only reason for the decision. We can demand transparency about the criteria and the weight given to their views.”

Tenerife fan Diaz Muros acknowledged the difficulties of suspending fixtures, but said players’ concerns should have been addressed.

“Minutes of silence are important, but so is giving people space to grieve.”

Tragedy highlights players’ welfare

In Tenerife, questions were also raised at the resumption of action while an investigation into the collision and emergency response, including treatment and evacuation, were ongoing.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife’s chief prosecutor, Jose Luis Sanchez-Jauregui, told the Spanish news agency EFE that criminal proceedings over the collision seemed unlikely. He cited the distinction between injuries arising during sporting play and deliberate aggression.

Meanwhile, the Spanish football federation’s disciplinary committee has deferred its decision on goalkeeper Owono, but EFE reported a potential suspension of up to 12 matches.

Spanish football expert Ortega argued that prevention of such incidents requires attention that goes beyond individual responsibility.

“Having a written protocol is the starting point,” he said. “Its effectiveness is demonstrated when the people who must implement it know their roles and can act in a coordinated way.”

He proposed independent reviews, regular emergency drills and checks on each stadium’s capacity to respond as possible measures to help prevent such tragedies.

The clash happened during a second division professional football match but questions still remain about procedures in lower division games, where provision of resources and medical response predate De Miguel’s death.

After Colindres goalkeeper Raul Ramirez suffered a fatal injury in the Spanish fifth division in September last year, AFE challenged the provisions in the lower tiers. The ground where he was injured had a defibrillator, but did not have a doctor or ambulance on site.

AFE president David Aganzo has now renewed calls for medical professionals and ambulances across national categories.

According to Ortega, protection also requires a bereavement procedure agreed with players.

Decisions on postponements, the criteria and how teams participate should be made with those stepping on the pitch. Psychological support, he argues, should continue beyond the first week.

For Tenerife fan president Diaz Muros, thoughts must return to those who will continue to grieve for their lifetimes.

“After the tributes, when the attention disappears, they will still be living with that absence. I would like the support to continue then.”

At Tenerife’s Estadio Heliodoro, as the Catholic prayer song Ave Maria played, those gathered stood for a final round of applause.

Above them beamed a monochrome image of Tenerife’s number nine, frozen in celebration, as tears streamed down the faces of his teammates and loved ones.