Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsed to the field late in the first half of his team’s game against Finland at Euro 2020 on Saturday, a frightening moment broadcast to a global television audience. Eriksen received immediate treatment on the grass where he had fallen, and was awake when he left the stadium on a stretcher about 20 minutes later.
UEFA suspended the match, which had been nearing its halftime break, for more than an hour. But it later said the game would resume at the request of both teams, and the players — relieved that their teammate and friend appeared to be OK, but a few of them still wiping away tears — soon returned to the field.
Just over 90 minutes after Eriksen fell to the ground, play resumed.
Eriksen was near the sideline, waiting to receive a throw-in, in the 42nd minute when he stumbled and fell forward. His Denmark teammates immediately sensed serious trouble, rushing to him and waving frantically for trainers to come to his aid.
The Denmark players, some of them crying and others praying, then formed a circle to shield Eriksen from view as the medical teams performed urgent care on him.
At one point, television images showed a trainer performing chest compressions on Eriksen.
UEFA, the tournament organizer, immediately suspended the match and later tweeted that Eriksen had been taken to the hospital and “stabilized.”
Denmark’s soccer association announced that Eriksen was “awake and undergoing further examinations.”
ESPN reported that Eriksen had spoken to his teammates before the decision was made to resume the match.
The incident happened in the 43rd minute of a scoreless game. Play was suspended, and both teams left the field.
Just over an hour after the incident, though, UEFA announced the match would resume “following the request made by players of both teams.” The teams returned to the field for warm-ups and then played the final four minutes of the first half. Mathias Jensen replaced Eriksen in Denmark’s midfield.
Inside the stadium during the delay, fans waiting for updates during the suspension appeared to unite in concern for Eriksen, at one point volleying chants back and forth between their respective cheering sections.
When the Finnish fans chanted “Christian,” their Danish counterparts answered with “Eriksen.”
Earlier, trainers and medical teams had worked on Eriksen on the field — only yards from a grandstand crowded with Denmark fans — for nearly 20 minutes before transferring him onto a stretcher and carrying him off the field. As he left, Eriksen appeared to be awake on the stretcher, resting his hand on his forehead.
Eriksen’s collapse and subsequent treatment left the crowd in Copenhagen’s Parken Stadium nearly silent, and Denmark’s players struggling to hide their emotions. Denmark’s captain, Simon Kjaer, stayed by his teammate’s side until help arrived. He and goalkeeper Kaspar Schmeichel then moved to midfield to comfort Eriksen’s partner, Sabrina Kvist Jensen, who had rushed to the advertising boards in front of the stands.
Eriksen, a 29-year-old who plays for the Italian champion Inter Milan, has been a fixture for Denmark for more than a decade. He led the team to the World Cup in 2018, where it advanced to the round of 16, and started for Tottenham Hotspur in Europe’s marquee club championship, the Champions League final, in 2019.
After a long career with Ajax in the Netherlands and Tottenham in England’s Premier League, he is a well-known and well-respected player. Clubs, federations and players immediately sent their best wishes, and their expressions of relief after the reports that he was recovering.
Several of his current and former teammates play for Belgium, a tournament favorite that was scheduled to kick off in its opening match against Russia during the delayed end of the Denmark-Finland match.
Source: Soccer - nytimes.com
