Supporters held their breath. The closing minutes of Tenerife's Spanish second division clash with Andorra turned terrifying when striker Jesús de Miguel suffered a serious injury in a violent collision with Andorra goalkeeper Uno, leaving him lying on the ground unconscious until medical teams rushed in to save his life.
Referee Manuel Ángel Pérez Hernández suspended the game at the Heliodoro Rodríguez López Stadium after de Miguel fell unconscious, then flashed a red card at Uno.
It happened in second-half stoppage time with the score at 2-2. De Miguel chased a high ball behind the halfway line, Uno raced off his line to clear it, and the two players collided violently.
De Miguel dropped to the pitch unconscious. Players from both sides screamed for urgent medical help as panic swept through the stands, according to Spanish newspaper "Marca".
Medics sprinted onto the pitch to give the player first aid. Efforts to save him lasted more than five minutes as total silence fell across the stadium, before he was carried off on a stretcher and into an ambulance kitted out with the necessary equipment.
Given the gravity of the situation, the referee called a halt. He told both captains and the coaching staffs the match was suspended, with the striker's condition overshadowing everything about the fixture and its result.
What followed was a moving scene. Uno, who had been walking off after his dismissal, turned back to check on de Miguel, while Tenerife officials and the player's team-mates gathered near the ambulance, visibly shaken.
Cardiac arrest and efforts to save his life
Reports that emerged after the incident said Jesús de Miguel suffered a cardiac arrest from the force of the collision, forcing paramedics to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation inside the ambulance.
Those interventions restored the player's pulse. His condition stabilised initially and he began to breathe on his own, though he remained unconscious, according to Spanish newspaper "AS".
The ambulance left the stadium for the Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria University Hospital, known as La Candelaria Hospital, with the medical team on board to run the necessary tests and monitor his condition.
Latest updates pointed to a slight improvement in the Tenerife striker's condition after he regained normal breathing, following the paramedics' success in resuscitating him inside the ambulance.
Despite those positive early signs, the player remains unconscious and is receiving care in hospital, awaiting the results of the tests and a medical report to reveal more about his condition.
The incident darkened the entire mood of the match. A football contest had become a human drama, with players, coaching staffs and supporters all gripped by fear as they waited for reassurance over Jesús de Miguel.