Denmark's Christian Eriksen collapses, given CPR on field during Euro 2020 match vs. Finland
Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsed during a Euro 2020 match on Saturday and received CPR on the field. He was transported on a stretcher to a nearby hospital, where officials said he was stable and awake.
Eriksen's agent, Martin Schoots, said on a Dutch radio station that he'd been told by Eriksen's father from the hospital that Eriksen was "out of danger," and able to breathe and speak.
Eriksen fell during the 42nd minute of a match against Finland, which was immediately suspended.
UEFA, the European soccer governing body, later announced that it would restart at 8:30 p.m. local time – 2:30 p.m. ET – after a nearly two-hour delay.
UEFA said the decision to restart the game had been made by players. The director of Denmark's soccer federation told a Danish broadcaster that Eriksen spoke to his teammates from his hospital bed before they requested to complete the match.
Following the request made by players of both teams, UEFA has agreed to restart the match between Denmark and Finland tonight at 20:30 CET (TBC).
— UEFA (@UEFA) June 12, 2021
The last four minutes of the first half will be played, there will then be a 5-minute half-time break followed by the second half.
The scary scene unfolded late in the first half. After receiving a throw in, it first appeared that Eriksen had merely stumbled to the ground. Broadcast footage had shown him on camera just moments earlier fully conscious, but running slowly and appearing to be out of breath.
After he fell, his Danish teammates noticed he was in distress and quickly signaled for a medical crew to come out. His teammates, some in tears, formed a circle around him on the field as medical personnel administered CPR.
The referees, along with the Finland players, walked off the field while the Denmark players stayed until Erikson was carried off.
Erikson's partner, Sabrina Kvist Jensen, was at the match and came down onto the pitch during the emergency. Denmark defender Simon Kjaer and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel hugged and consoled her.
Photos later showed Eriksen awake, conscious, and holding an oxygen mask to his face while on a gurney leaving the stadium.
After the pitch emptied, a video board in the stadium relayed updates on Eriksen's condition, and on the match's status, to fans.
During the delay, fans of both teams chanted Eriksen's name.
Parken hyllar Christian Eriksen. Finska fansen ropar ”Christian”, danska svarar ”Eriksen”. pic.twitter.com/mOFLq3gAqg
— Michael Wagner (@MicGWagner) June 12, 2021
When players from both teams returned to the field over an hour later to warm up, some Danish players appeared to still be in distress. Kjaer, the captain, was particularly emotional, and was subbed off 20 minutes after the 8:30 p.m. restart.
Finland scored in the 59th minute, its first goal ever at a major international tournament, to take a 1-0 lead. Joel Pohjanpalo, the goalscorer, urged restraint during his celebration.
Finland scores the first goal after the restart.
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 12, 2021
Goalscorer Joel Pohjanpalo refused to celebrate. pic.twitter.com/TuMLGnr4es
The third Euro 2020 game of the day kicked off at 3 p.m. ET as scheduled. Romelu Lukaku, Eriksen's club teammate at Inter Milan, scored the opening goal, ran to a TV camera, and said, "Chris, I love you."
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