Related Post
Former Denmark goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel has criticised the decision to resume Sunday’s European Championship game after Christian Eriksen collapsed on the field and needed CPR.
Key points:
- If a match cannot continue, UEFA says it should be resumed the next day if possible
- The Danish legend said UEFA should have shown some compassion and worked out a different scenario
- Eriksen’s collapse has had an effect on his former teammates from around Europe, who considered not playing in their own matches
Schmeichel says it was “a ridiculous decision” by the governing body of European football to complete the game between Denmark and Finland.
Denmark’s team doctor said Eriksen’s heart stopped and that “he was gone” before being resuscitated with a defibrillator after collapsing during the team’s match against Finland.
Instagram: Mark Bosnich
)The Euro 2020 match was suspended for about 90 minutes after Eriksen needed lengthy medical treatment before being taken to a hospital. Finland eventually won 1-0.
Governing body UEFA gave Denmark the option to resume playing on Sunday but the team chose to complete the game Saturday.
According to UEFA rules, if a match cannot be played in full, it is, as a rule, played or completed on the next day, if possible, at the same venue.
A match that was abandoned is continued from the minute at which it was interrupted (with the same scoreline, and with the ball in the same spot). Teams are allowed to change players for the rescheduled or resumed game (from those within their finals squad)
Danish coach Kasper Hjulmand initially said the teams wanted to get the match over with.
“The players couldn’t imagine not being able to sleep tonight and then having to get in tomorrow, get on the bus and play a game,” Hjulmand said after the match.
“Honestly, it was best to get it over with.”
Today, though, he was more circumspect.
“When I look back, I honestly don’t think we should have gone back onto the pitch. I am so, so proud that the players tried. That is amazing. That they went out there and were the best team … the fact that they could do it.
“But I kind of regret having gone out there again.”
Schmeichel told BBC Radio 5 Live that UEFA should have worked out “a different scenario and shown a little bit of compassion”.
Schmeichel’s son is Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who was one of the players praised for his actions when the incident occurred, including comforting Eriksen’s partner, Sabrina Kvist Jensen on the pitch.
Incident was especially traumatic for Daley Blind
Netherlands defender Daley Blind had to overcome a “mental hurdle” to play in Sunday’s European Championship match against Ukraine after watching television images of former teammate Christian Eriksen collapse a day earlier.
Blind was clearly emotional when he was substituted in the second half of the Netherlands’ 3-2 victory at the Johan Cruyff Arena. He was hugged by Netherlands coach Frank de Boer and other team staff before sitting down.
AP: Friedemann Vogel
)“For me it was recognisable,” Blind told Dutch broadcaster NOS after the match in Amsterdam.
“Today I had to overcome a mental hurdle for myself to play,” said Blind, who had an implantable cardioverter defibrillator fitted after being diagnosed with an inflamed heart muscle in 2019.
Loading
Eriksen was a fan favourite in Amsterdam when he played for Ajax from 2010-13. He later moved to Tottenham and Inter Milan, where he is a teammate of Netherlands defender Stefan de Vrij.
Two orange-clad fans held a sign saying “Eriksen Stay Strong” next to a picture of a heart and the player’s number 10 Denmark shirt.
The fans in the stadium cheered as screens showed a message in Dutch saying: “Get well Christian.”
Blind said he considered not playing Sunday.
“The images from yesterday … of Eriksen had a big impact on me and made me realise a lot,” Blind said.
“And that makes the moment difficult for me to step onto the pitch today.”
Netherlands coach de Boer, who also worked with Eriksen during his time at Ajax, said he went through an “emotional rollercoaster” after seeing what happened to Eriksen, who is in a stable condition in a hospital in Copenhagen.
“For Daley Blind, it was of course very emotional,” De Boer said.
Eriksen’s collapse also revived memories of Ajax midfielder Abdelhak Nouri, who was left with severe brain damage after collapsing during a preseason friendly in Austria in 2017.
AP
