Danish Soccer Star Christian Eriksen Collapses and Receives CPR During Euro 2020 Match

Colby HallJun 12th, 2021, 1:28 pm
 

A life and death situation unfolded on a Copenhagen soccer pitch Saturday afternoon as Danish soccer star Christian Eriksen collapsed near the end of the first half of a Euro 2020 match, which led to the Inter Milan midfielder receiving CPR on the field in front of a packed stadium of stunned fans.

ESPN reports:

Eriksen was walking towards the sideline and was clearly struggling to make his way across. As the ball was thrown in his direction, it hit him and he fell to the ground.

Medics ran on to the field to help the Inter Milan midfielder as he lay stricken on the ground with his Denmark teammates in clear distress.

Eriksen received medical attention on the field for 10 minutes with players from both sides looking on with concern as CPR was administered. The match was officially postponed on 43 minutes with the score at 0-0.

Eriksen appeared to collapse in the 42nd minute and was immediately unresponsive. Both Danish and Finnish players immediately recognized the gravity 0f the situation and urgently called for medical attention. Eriksen’s teammates, in shock, eventually circled their fallen teammate as he received CPR while the stadium began to chant his name in support.

ESPN reports that both Finnish and Danish fans are chanting back and forth, one side cheering “Christian” the other chanting “Eriksen, ” a video of which you can see below:

The Denmark-Finland match was suspended as the soccer field around the world immediately went into shock. The very scary moment is still not resolved, and it recalls a similar incident in the EPL when Fulham player Fabrice Muamba collapsed in a similar manner, but was ultimately revived and is now leading a healthy and normal life.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is revealed.

UPDATE: Eriksen is now responsive and stabilized according to a tweet from UEFA:

ESPN aired an image of Eriksen leaving the pitch via stretcher, head up, eyes opened and face covered by a respirator mask:

Another image of an alert Eriksen via Getty can be seen below:

HANNAH MCKAY/POOL/AFP

Watch above via ESPN.

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Colby Hall - Founding Editor

Colby Hall is the Founding Editor of Mediaite.com. He is also a Peabody Award-winning television producer of non-fiction narrative programming as well as a terrific dancer and preparer of grilled meats.