Workplace accidents on the pitch: the protection of professional footballers after the Jesús de Miguel case

For a professional footballer, playing a match is part of the working day, just like training. Starting from this premise, Mario Chaparro addresses in Cinco Días a question that has been overshadowed since the death of Jesús de Miguel: what protection is available to his family and to the goalkeeper involved in the collision, Jesús Owono, should he need medical care to come to terms with what happened.

The Toda & Nel-lo Counsel explains that Spanish law presumes that injuries sustained at the workplace and during working time are work-related, without the need for a criminal conviction, and that accepting the risks inherent in football does not mean waiving those rights. He goes on to review the Social Security benefits payable on death resulting from a workplace accident, the compensation that the rules governing professional athletes require the club to pay, and the additional compensation provided for in the collective bargaining agreement between the Spanish Footballers’ Association (AFE) and LaLiga, together with the arguments for treating them as cumulative.

The article also examines the position of the goalkeeper, who plays in a Spanish competition for a club based in Andorra. This raises the question of which Social Security system applies to him and what top-up payments the club might be required to make should he be signed off work.

You can read the full article here:

Opinion | Cinco Días: El caso Jesús de Miguel y la protección laboral de los futbolistas profesionales (in Spanish)