Football stunned as Denmark star Christian Eriksen collapses during Euro 2020 game against Finland
Denmark star Christian Eriksen in ‘stable condition’ in hospital after collapsing during Euro 2020 game and needing CPR on the pitch but fans and ex-players furious after UEFA order the rest of the game has to be played
- Christian Eriksen suddenly fell to the ground near the end of the first half during his side’s clash with Finland
- Eriksen was given CPR by frantic medics who sprinted onto the pitch at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen
- Player was then carried off the pitch in a moving stretcher while receiving oxygen shortly after 6pm
- Pictures showed Eriksen sitting up on the stretcher with his eyes open as he was carried away this evening
- Find out the latest Euro 2020 news including fixtures, live action and results here.
Denmark star Christian Eriksen is in a ‘stable condition’ in hospital after he collapsed on the pitch during a Euro 2020 game – but fans and ex-players were left furious after UEFA order the rest of the game has to be played.
The 29-year-old Inter Milan midfielder suddenly fell to the ground near the end of the first half during his side’s clash with Finland at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen.
Eriksen – a former-Tottenham player – was given CPR by frantic medics who sprinted onto the pitch as his sobbing teammates watched on shortly after 6pm.
The match was quickly suspended – but UEFA announced just hours later that it would resume ‘following the request made by players of both teams’.
The Danish Football Union later confirmed their star player ‘is awake’ and awaits further tests at hospital, as his agent Martin Schoots told a Danish radio station that he ‘breathes and can speak. He is out of danger.’
Eriksen is also understood to have spoken to his teammates from his hospital bed to reassure them of his condition.
Remarkably, the match kicked off again around 7.30pm UK time following confirmation from UEFA – in a move blasted as ‘greedy’ by some supporters.
Warning: the following images may be distressing for some readers
Denmark star Christian Eriksen has been rushed to hospital after collapsing on the pitch mid-game – as distressing footage shows medics giving him CPR
Pictures showed Eriksen sitting up on the stretcher with his eyes open as he was carried away this evening
Eriksen’s wife Sabrina Kvist was seen in floods of tears and was consoled by Denmark players as she rushed on to the Copenhagen pitch
Ms Kvist (centre) was crying at pitch-side and was seen being consoled by Kasper Schmeichel
Eriksen was seen taken off the pitch wearing oxygen and supported by urgent medical staff
Remarkably, the match kicked off again around 7.30pm UK time, with players walking onto the pitch to rapturous applause from fans and the Finland team
Fans cheered for Eriksen as the match between Finland and Denmark resumed tonight
A statement posted to UEFA’s official Twitter account read: ‘Following the medical emergency involving Denmark’s player Christian Eriksen, a crisis meeting has taken place with both teams and match officials and further information will be communicated at 19:45 CET’
And the Danish Football Union confirmed their star player ‘is awake’ and awaits further tests at hospital
The match was postponed but is set to resume around 7.30pm UK time, the Danish FU confirmed
UEFA said the restart was agreed ‘following the request made by players of both teams’
A statement posted to UEFA’s official Twitter account read: ‘Following the medical emergency involving Denmark’s player Christian Eriksen, a crisis meeting has taken place with both teams and match officials and further information will be communicated at 19:45 CET.
‘The player has been transferred to the hospital and has been stabilised.’
A later post read: ‘Following the request made by players of both teams, UEFA has agreed to restart the match between Denmark and Finland tonight at 8.30pm CET.’
It also confirmed tonight’s match between Belgium and Russia will still go ahead.
The move to resume the Denmark/ Finland match was blasted online, with one fan writing: ‘I can’t believe UEFA is actually going to finish this match tonight. Greedy monsters.’
Another wrote: ‘Cancel every game today man don’t be greedy for once, please.’
Meanwhile, one Twitter user added: ‘I just hope y’all fans who were calling Super League “greedy” can see that UEFA is the biggest of all greedy entity.’
Another person called for the tournament to be halted. They wrote: ‘How greedy can you be? Cancel this match, stop this tournament!’
English referee Anthony Taylor looked shocked following the incident earlier today, with players seen crying and holding their hands to their head in despair.
The midfielder’s wife – Sabrina Kvist – was seen crying on the touchline as she rushed down to the pitch along with several other Danish supporters inside the stadium.
Danish supporters were also seen in tears while Eriksen was receiving urgent treatment. The match in Copenhagen was postponed just after 6pm.
Countless fans and fellow players rushed to Twitter to share their words of encouragement to Eriksen, as the player remains stable in hospital.
Former Chelsea star Didier Drogba wrote: ‘Fight for your life Eriksen, we pray for you.’
Fabrice Muamba, who collapsed on the pitch at White Hart Lane while playing for Bolton against Tottenham in 2012, tweeted: ‘Please God’.
Eriksen’s former team Tottenham wrote: ‘All of our thoughts are with Christian Eriksen and his family.’
England winger Jadon Sancho wrote: My prayers go out to’ followed by the Danish flag, a broken heart and a praying emoji.
Cesc Fabregas, who was covering the game as a pundit, tweeted four praying emojis while Gary Lineker tweeted: ‘Goodness me, this looks truly awful.’
Pundit Micah Richards wrote: ‘Praying for you Christian Eriksen’ and Dutch midfielder Marten de Roon added: ‘This is heartbreaking to see. Also please stop sharing videos of Christian or his girlfriend and cut off the cameras.’
Former Germany midfielder Mesut Ozil wrote: ‘Shocked. We’re all with you, Christian Eriksen. Please be ok.’
Jesse Lingard wrote: ‘Thoughts and prayers go out to Christian Eriksen and his family. Praying everything is ok’.
Other players posting similar tweets for the Denmark midfielder included former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher and Manchester United’s former right-back Gary Neville as well as current England and Aston Villa forward Jack Grealish.
Player held their hands to their heads, with some bowing down in shock as Eriksen received treatment
Players rushed to Eriksen’s aid after he collapsed on the pitch. They raised their hands in the air to call for help
Medics quickly attended to the player as scared teammates and devastated fans watched on
Medics quickly rushed to Eriksen’s aid tonight. Players stood near him shocked fans watched on
And the Danish Football Union announced their star player ‘is awake’ and awaits further tests at hospital. Pictured: Medics tending to Eriksen on the pitch
The match was postponed but is set to resume around 7.30pm UK time, the Danish FU confirmed. Pictured: Heartbroken fans watching the incident unfold
Players formed a protective wall around Eriksen as medics tended to him. Terrified fans watched on
The stretcher was wheeled over to Eriksen so he could be carried off the pitch today
The BBC faced widespread criticism for not cutting away sooner after the collapse (pictured)
Fans were aghast as they watched medics help Eriksen. Many couldn’t believe what they were witnessing
Medics were seen lifting white sheets while Eriksen was loaded into a stretcher. Players formed a wall around him
English referee Anthony Taylor (middle) called off the match just after 6pm
UK Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden was among those who posted online about the ‘awful scenes’ witnessed at the match in Copenhagen.
Writing on Twitter shortly after the incident Mr Dowden said: ‘Awful scenes at Denmark v Finland Euros game. Thoughts with Christian Eriksen and his family.’
David Lammy, the Labour MP for Tottenham and shadow justice secretary, tweeted: ‘Prayers and thoughts for Danish and Spurs Legend Christian Eriksen. ‘We are all rooting for you brother.’
London Mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted: ‘Deeply upsetting scenes in Copenhagen. ‘My thoughts right now are with Christian Eriksen, his family, and everyone in Denmark and around the world praying for his recovery.’
BBC coverage of the match saw pundit Alex Scott reduced to tears after Eriksen‘s collapse on the pitch.
And when cameras cut to the BBC studio containing Scott, Cesc Fabregas, Micah Richards and host Gary Lineker, the former England women’s footballer was clearly emotional.
She told the studio: ‘I’m already getting emotional, I cant believe what we’re witnessing. Football goes totally out of the window.
‘You’re thinking about his family, all the rest of the players that are out there witnessing it as well. I actually just got on my phone and told my mother I love her. I think it’s a reminder how quickly life can change. Just like that.’
Current professional footballer Fabregas was also visibly shocked and claimed that everything has been put into perspective as a result of the incident.
Fabregas said: ‘I don’t really know what to say really. My body is shaking. All I can think about is Christian’s family, what they must be going through and I pray for the very best.
‘How many times do I go home and I’m upset and I fight with my family and loved ones? You realise it’s just a game. We need to enioy it every second and have passion and enjoy it but really there are things that don’t matter anymore.
‘The most important thing is health. Just try to be always happy and enjoy what you have in life and how blessed we are and that’s it. It’s just a big shock for all of us.’
The BBC faced widespread criticism for not cutting away sooner after the collapse.
While Eriksen’s Denmark team-mates formed a ring around the player while he appeared to be receiving CPR, the BBC continued to broadcast the distressing scene while also showing the player’s wife on the sidelines.
Ian Wright was among those to voice their shock that the broadcaster failed to cut away for so long.
He tweeted: ‘CUT TO THE STUDIO FFS!!!!’
Jermaine Beckford added: ‘This needs to cut to the studio now!’
‘Christian Eriksen This is not good for the viewing public just go back to the studio just think of who is watching come on BBC,’ tweeted Frank Bruno.
Stephen Humphrys, a forward for League One side Rochdale, also hailed the unity of the Danish players and their immediate reaction.
‘Danish players guarding their teammate from the cameras is one of the best symbols of unity I’ve ever seen,’ Humphrys’ posted.
‘Huge respect. On the other hand, they shouldn’t have had to do it but unfortunately the media have no boundaries these days.’
Spencer Owen was also critical of the decision to show Eriksen’s girlfriend as part of the coverage.
He tweeted: ‘It must have been very difficult to know what to do from a broadcasting perspective as the Eriksen situation developed, but I can’t get my head around the fact that a director must have said ‘right now cut to his wife.’
‘There’s no other way that shot happens surely? Sickening.’
The corporation later apologised after complaints, saying: ‘We apologise to anyone who was upset by the images broadcast.
‘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.’
Alex Scott was reduced to tears in the BBC studio following the shocking scenes
REVEALED: Christian Eriksen has never had heart problems and passed all medical checks during his 11-year professional career – but doctors will now likely investigate after he collapsed on the pitch in horrifying incident at Euro 2020
By Alvise Cagnazzo For MailOnline
Christian Eriksen has never had heart problems in his career and passed all medical tests over the 11 years he’s played professional football.
Eriksen, 29, who is now understood to be in a stable condition, will likely have to have extensive tests over the coming days and weeks as doctors begin to investigate what happened after he collapsed on the pitch during Denmark’s Euro 2020 game against Finland and had to be given CPR by emergency medics.
Pictures of the Danish midfielder appeared to show him conscious and breathing as he was rushed off to hospital on a stretcher, with Eriksen seeming to be sat up with his hand on his head.
Christian Eriksen (right) has never had heart problems in his career and passed all medical tests over the 11 years he’s played professional football
The terrible incident left Denmark and Finland’s players and fans in the stadium in floods of tears while Eriksen’s wife – Sabrina Kvist – was seen crying was seen crying and being comforted by Kasper Schmeichel as her husband laid on the floor receiving urgent medical attention.
Eriksen has always shown high levels of physical health in the numerous medical checks he’s had over his professional career with Ajax, Tottenham, Inter Milan and Denmark, so his sudden collapse was a shocking incident which had never been expected.
Eriksen currently plays his football in Italy with Inter Milan and the club’s chief executive Giuseppe Marotta said he was trying to stay positive as he attempted to reassure fans.
‘I’m cautiously optimistic about Erisken’s health,’ he told Sky Sport Italia after the incident.
A number of reports have claimed that Eriksen is now breathing on his own and in a stable condition.
The Euro 2020 match between Denmark and Finland was postponed for almost two hours before play resumed at 7.30pm.
Countless fans and fellow players rushed to Twitter to share their words of encouragement to Eriksen, as the player remains stable in hospital.
Former Chelsea star Didier Drogba wrote: ‘Fight for your life Eriksen, we pray for you.’
Fabrice Muamba, who collapsed on the pitch at White Hart Lane while playing for Bolton against Tottenham in 2012, tweeted: ‘Please God’.
Eriksen’s former team Tottenham wrote: ‘All of our thoughts are with Christian Eriksen and his family.’
England winger Jadon Sancho wrote: My prayers go out to’ followed by the Danish flag, a broken heart and a praying emoji.
Cesc Fabregas, who was covering the game as a pundit, tweeted four praying emojis while Gary Lineker tweeted: ‘Goodness me, this looks truly awful.’
Pundit Micah Richards wrote: ‘Praying for you Christian Eriksen’ and Dutch midfielder Marten de Roon added: ‘This is heartbreaking to see. Also please stop sharing videos of Christian or his girlfriend and cut off the cameras.’
