‘We managed to get Christian back’: Danish team doctor describes giving CPR to star player

As Christian Eriksen lay unconscious on the field, his pulse slipping away, Denmark team doctor Morten Boesen quickly realised there wasn’t a second to lose.

“He was breathing and I could feel his pulse. But suddenly that changed,” Dr Boesen said on Sunday (AEST). “And as everyone saw, we started giving him CPR.”

The next 10 minutes were among the scariest to ever unfold during a match at soccer’s European Championship. Several medics worked frenetically to give Eriksen chest compressions while his teammates choked away tears and formed a circle around the midfielder to shield the scene from public view.

And finally, the eerie silence that had descended around Parken Stadium was replaced with massive cheers.

“We managed to get Christian back,” Dr Boesen said. “And he spoke to me before he was taken to the hospital.”

Eriksen was awake and in a stable condition on Saturday night (local time) after being taken to a Copenhagen hospital, the Danish soccer federation said.

His collapse, which came in the 43rd minute of the match against Finland, led to the game being suspended for about 90 minutes before both teams made the decision to play on.

Finland went on to win 1-0 after Joel Pohjanpalo scored in the 60th minute and goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky later saved a penalty.

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But in the end, the result seemed merely an afterthought.

“Of course you can’t play a game with such feelings,” Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand said. “What we tried to do was incredible. It’s incredible that the players managed to go out and try to play the second half.”

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‘It was best to get it over with’: Emergency meeting led to play being resumed

UEFA said both teams had held an emergency meeting before deciding to continue playing. The players came back out onto the field to a huge ovation as they started warming up for a second time.

Hjulmand said the teams were given the option of finishing the game on Saturday or resuming on Sunday.

“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. “Honestly, it was best to get it over with.”

Eriksen had just played a short pass when he fell face-forward onto the ground. His teammates immediately gestured for help and medics rushed onto the field.

Eriksen’s partner, Sabrina Kvist Jensen, went onto the field and was comforted by Denmark captain Simon Kjaer and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.

The Finland players huddled by their bench and eventually walked off the field while the Inter Milan midfielder was still getting treatment, as did the referees.

Eriksen was eventually carried off to a loud ovation, with his teammates walking next to the stretcher.

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Inter Milan team physician Piero Volpi said Eriksen never contracted COVID-19, had no medical conditions that he was aware of and had passed every medical exam without problem since joining Inter in January 2020 from Tottenham.

“But we’ll talk about that when the time is right,” Dr Volpi added of Eriksen’s medical history. “Right now, the important thing is that he recovers.”

Eriksen is one of Denmark’s biggest stars and the incident brought an instant sense of shock to the Parken Stadium, where about 15,000 fans fell into hushed silence. Some supporters could be seen crying and hugging in the stands.

The incident brought back memories of other soccer players who had collapsed on the field, including Marc-Vivien Foe and Fabrice Muamba. Foe died while playing for Cameroon during the 2003 Confederations Cup in France, while Muamba needed CPR in 2012 when he collapsed in a match between Bolton and Tottenham at White Hart Lane in north London.

Muamba, who fully recovered, wrote “Please God” on Twitter as Eriksen was taken to the hospital.

BBC apologises for showing traumatic scenes

In the UK, host BBC came under criticism for showing live footage of CPR being performed on the player, as well as his wife being consoled by Danish players. The broadcaster quickly apologised.

In a statement, a BBC spokesperson said: “Everyone at the BBC is hoping Christian Eriksen makes a full recovery.

“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.”

“Obviously these were the host pictures and out of our control. They should have stayed on a wide of the stadium. Apologies.”

Host Gary Linekar wrote on Twitter:  “In 25 years of doing this job, that was the most difficult, distressing and emotional broadcast I’ve ever been involved with.

“Get well soon, Christian Eriksen.”

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AP/ABC