THE television boss in charge of Denmark vs Finland has defended the coverage of Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest.
He insisted it was ‘necessary to show distress’ but also outlined the steps taken to protect the player and those involved.
Eriksen collapsed just before half-time in the Euro 2020 clash on Saturday in Copenhagen and was ‘gone’, according to team doctors.
He was treated on the pitch for 13 minutes, including with CPR and a defibrillator shock, before being taken to hospital where he was awake and stable.
But there was widespread outrage at the TV feed which showed the medics working on the stricken star as well as his partner Sabrina Kvist Jensen, who was consoled on the touchline.
However, TV director Jean-Jacques Amsellem said there was ‘no handbook for these incidents’.
He told L’Equipe: “There was a slow-motion of the scene where we can see him fall really clearly, but I immediately forced my teams not to focus on him, not to film him anymore.
“During all the live coverage that followed, I did at one moment show Danes in tears because it was still necessary to show the distress.
“We also saw the emotions of the Finns and the crowd but I don’t think we did anything mawkish or creepy.”
In the UK, many viewers – including Ian Wright – were left horrified by the BBC’s ‘staggering decision’ to show the harrowing footage and the public broadcaster has since launched a review into their coverage.
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Christian Eriksen latest:
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– PLAY ON Christian Eriksen ‘FaceTimes Denmark team-mates from hospital’ and says play-on
– BEEB FURY BBC apologises after fans slam them for not cutting away after Eriksen collapsed
– ‘PLEASE GOD’ Football world prays for Eriksen after Dane collapses and given CPR on pitch
– UNITED IN CARE Touching moment Finland fans give country’s flags to shield stricken Eriksen
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The cameras eventually moved back to Gary Lineker in the studio, who apologised on behalf of his employer.
He said: “Everyone at the BBC is hoping that Christian makes a full recovery, of course, and we apologise to anyone who was upset by the images broadcast.”
The BBC quickly tried pinning the blame on Uefa.
A spokesperson added: “In-stadium coverage is controlled by Uefa as the host broadcaster, and as soon as the match was suspended, we took our coverage off air as quickly as possible.”
But Uefa responded by saying several broadcasters across Europe managed to cut back to their studios to protect viewers.
The European football governing body said: “Every broadcaster had the possibility to cut back to their studio and many of them did so.
“It was therefore their editorial choice to stay with the live images or not.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
