Christian Eriksen 'joking with doctors', Kasper Schmeichel suggests Finland match should NOT have continued
CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN is stable in hospital and reportedly joking with doctors after suffering cardiac arrest.
Denmark's game against Finland had to be stopped after Eriksen collapsed on the field just before half time, receiving CPR shortly afterwards.
The match between the Danes and Finns continued once both teams were aware Eriksen had woken up, with Finland running out 1-0 winners.
Follow all the latest with our live blog below…
- Jake Lambourne
BRAITHWAITE CONTINUED
Martin Braithwaite has revealed he is still feeling emotional following Christian Eriksen's cardiac arrest.
He said: "I am still emotional about the situation.
"Most importantly Christian is feeling better and therefore I am feeling better too.
"His health is the most important thing of all. It was important for me personally to see that he felt better via video.
"I had some pictures in my head from last Saturday that I would like to get rid of.
"We were all about to lose a friend and a team-mate. It's not something you normally think of on a football pitch. Joy and love are normal. No one can prepare for what happened."
- Jake Lambourne
NOT A S-MART CHOICE
Denmark striker Martin Braithwaite has claimed that Denmark's decision to play Finland following Christian Eriksen's cardiac arrest was the 'least bad decision'.
He said: "None of the options were good. We took the least bad one. There were lots of players who were unable to play.
"We were in a bad place. We made the least bad decision.
"We were told we had to make a decision. That's the only thing I can say. I wished there was a third option. Because I did not want to go out again.
"But Uefa said there were two options. We made a decision because we knew we would not be able to sleep that night."
- Jake Lambourne
BLIND FAITH
Daley Blind considered withdrawing from Holland’s Euro 2020 opener after seeing his former Ajax team-mate and friend Christian Eriksen collapse after suffering a cardiac arrest on Saturday.
The former Manchester United star has been fitted with an implanted defibrillator after being diagnosed with heart muscle inflammation.
Blind left the pitch in tears following Holland’s 3-2 win over Ukraine on Sunday.
He told Dutch broadcaster NOS: “Yesterday had a huge impact on me. Besides the fact that I know Christian well as a friend, the situation for him is terrible.
“Of course I have also experienced a few things in that area, so that I had to overcome a mental hurdle to play.
“I had a lot of trouble with it, but I’m proud that I did it. Then all the emotion comes out for a while.
“I’ve definitely thought about not taking part. The images and the moment had a lot of impact and I didn’t sleep very well because of them. I really had to overcome a big hurdle to do this.”
- Jake Lambourne
CARDIAC ARREST EXPLAINED
What is a cardiac arrest?
Find out what happened to Christian Eriksen below.
Christian Eriksen's life was saved by the fast reactions of team-mates and medics - Jake Lambourne
ERIKSEN TIMELINE
The world held its breath after Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch - Jake Lambourne
FAB’S FEARS
Fabrice Muamba begged ‘please, this is not going to happen again’ as he watched Christian Eriksen collapse.
He told GMB: “I was just hoping that the guy can pull through. Christian is a fantastic footballer.
“Aged 29, the guy still has a couple of years left in him to play at the highest level.
“He’s finishing a good season with Inter Milan and to play at a tournament in his home country was the perfect opportunity.
“To watch it and see this happen to a fellow professional player, you are saying, ‘Please, this is not going to happen again.’”
- Joe Brophy
CAPTAIN KJAER
AC Milan are considering making Denmark hero Simon Kjaer their captain, according to reports.
The Dane stopped Christian Eriksen from swallowing his tongue before performing CPR on his stricken team-mate on Saturday.
And the Italian giants are thinking about making him their permanent skipper as a result, according to Sportsmediaset.
Milan legend – and the club's technical director – Paolo Maldini is said to support the move.
And Kjaer also has the fans' backing with some supporters even starting a social media campaign to get him the armband, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
- Joe Brophy
MORE FROM SCHMEICHEL
Asked about his own recollection of the harrowing situation, the Foxes stopper added: "It's a violent experience.
"But he is here today, and I am very grateful for that. The only heroes there are are the doctors who saved him.
"We are professional football players, but these people dedicate their lives to saving people. That they could do it under that pressure.
"I cannot describe how much admiration I have for them. That they could bring him back is a miracle.
"I even think about how I would have my team-mates react if I was lying there. And then we have some amazing people on this team. A captain and a coach who knows how to act.
"It characterises us as a team and country that we stand together until the very end.
"Personally, I tried to imagine if it was me who was lying there. I knew Christian's wife, children, and parents were there, so at one point I tried to look for them.
"It is an inhuman situation for them to go through."
- Joe Brophy
'WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE'
Kasper Schmeichel said it was 'damn nice' to see Christian Eriksen laughing and smiling in hospital after his cardiac arrest.
The 34-year-old said: "It was damn nice to see him smile and laugh and be himself. Just notice that he is there.
"It was a wonderful experience and something that has helped me see that he was okay after lying there.
"We talked about nothing and everything. As long as he is well – that has been the most important thing. He has experienced something that we have not experienced.
"He has a completely different experience of the situation. It was great to talk to him, and now we have a lot of work to try to navigate."
- Joe Brophy
NO JAB
Inter Milan have been forced to deny rumours Christian Eriksen's cardiac arrest was related to the Covid vaccine.
Inter director Giuseppe Marotta said: "He didn't have Covid and wasn't vaccinated either. At this moment, Eriksen is under the guidance of the Danish medical staff.
"It is right that they release information, but I can say the Inter medical staff have been in contact with them from the start.
"The players are very close and we all immediately communicated with each other after seeing those images. We didn't want to be invasive and so tried to respect his convalescence once we had been reassured."
- Joe Brophy
ICYMI
Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand has blasted Uefa for giving his players a ‘tough choice’ after Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch on Saturday.
He said: “I think it was the wrong thing to make the decision between the two scenarios in this case.
“The players didn’t know if they lost their best friend and they had to decide [whether to play].
“I have a feeling we shouldn’t have played, to just get on the bus and go home and see what the next days brought.
“It was a tough message that the players had to try and make a decision. I have a sense that it was wrong the players were put in this situation.
“I am really proud to be the coach of a team that responded the way they did. Football showed its best face. Team spirit, compassion and love is what football is really about.”
- Joe Brophy
ERIKSEN'S AGENT SPEAKS
Christian Eriksen's friend and agent Martin Schoots said, as reported by Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport: "We spoke this morning [Sunday].
"He joked, he was in a good mood, I found him fine. We all want to understand what happened to him, he wants to do it too: the doctors are carrying out in-depth examinations, it will take time.
"He was happy because he understood how much love is around. Messages have reached him from all over the world.
"And he was particularly impressed by those of the Inter world: not only the team-mates he heard through the chat, but also the fans.
"Christian doesn't give up. He and his family want to send their thanks to everyone.
"Half the world has contacted us, everyone was worried.
"Now he just has to rest, with him are his wife and parents. Also tomorrow [Monday] he will remain under observation, perhaps even on Tuesday.
"But in any case he wants to cheer on his team-mates against Belgium."
- Joe Brophy
KEEP AN EYE OUT
Kasper Schmeichel reassured Christian Eriksen’s wife Sabrina Kvist Jensen that her husband was alive as he supported her on the side of the pitch.
Schmeichel’s dad Peter told BBC Radio 5 Live: “That would be the worst two hours in my time in football. We had absolutely no information but we could see it was very, very serious.
“You look at the reaction of the players and it happened not very far from all the wives of the players and, of course, Christian’s wife would have seen that.
“She came on to the pitch and you could see from the reaction of the players; I saw my son Kasper run over to her, and I spoke to him last night.
“He said that Christian is breathing. She actually thought that he’d passed away, and just to confirm that (he was breathing) he went back to be absolutely sure that he wasn’t saying anything that was out of order.
“By then Christian was talking to the doctor and we could see there was a little bit of calm there, but until it was confirmed it was really terrible to watch it all and to understand why a fit, 29-year-old player at this level and how it can happen like that.
“And having a son there, straight away you relate that to yourself.”
- Joe Brophy
ON THE BOX
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.
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.”
- Joe Brophy
BEEB BLAST
The BBC has launched a review into the "staggering decision" to show harrowing footage of stricken Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch.
Inter Milan star Eriksen was given CPR on the pitch after suffering a cardiac arrest during Denmark's Euro 2020 opener against Finland on Saturday.
His teammates formed a protective wall around him but viewers were left horrified of the BBC's distressing footage of his treatment.
The broadcaster quickly tried pinning the blame on Uefa and apologised for anyone "upset" by the footage.
But Uefa responded by saying several broadcasters across Europe managed to cut back to their studios to protect viewers.
The BBC has now launched a probe into whether the match director made the right call in not stopping filming soon enough, The Times reports.
Insiders are now questioning the “staggering decision” to continue broadcasting, the paper says.
- Joe Brophy
BROTHERS IN ARMS
Christain Eriksen had his life saved thanks to the incredible work of Denmark medics, Uefa doctors, hospital staff and team-mate Simon Kjaer.
The Danish star, 29, was close to being 'gone' according to one doc – but was saved by two hero brothers, Morten and Anders Boesen.
The Boesen brothers both work for Copenhagen, with Morten the team doctor for both club and country having first taken on the role at the Danish Superliga side in 2004.
He started working with Denmark's national squad in 2019.
Anders works for Copenhagen's academy and is also a qualified doctor.
While not officially working with Denmark, he was named Uefa's independent stadium doctor for the clash with Finland with the game taking place at Copenhagen's Parken Stadium.
As such, the brothers – who are more used to 'fixing knees than savings lives', a source told The Athletic – were first on the scene to save Eriksen.
- Joe Brophy
DANISH DILEMMA
UEFA threatened Denmark with a 3-0 loss if they failed to complete their match with Finland, Peter Schmeichel revealed.
Their match was stopped just before half-time when Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch.
He told GMB: “They said the players insisted on playing. I know that not to be the truth. Or that’s how you see the truth.
“They were left with three options. One was to play immediately and get the last 50 minutes played.
“The next one was to come in yesterday at 12 noon and finish the 50 minutes.
“And the third option was to forfeit the game and lose 3-0.
“So, you know, work it out for yourself. Is it the players’ wish to play? Did they have any choice really? I don’t think they had.
“And as you can hear from yesterday’s press conference, the coach seriously regrets putting the players back on the pitch.”
- Joe Brophy
ERIKSEN SPEAKS
Christian Eriksen has spoken for the first time since his cardiac arrest on Saturday.
The 29-year-old said he feels better but wants to ‘understand what happened’.
He sent a brief message to the public in quotes reported by Italian outlet Gazzaetta dello Sport.
Eriksen said: “Thank you all, I won’t give up. I feel better now but I want to understand what happened.
“I want to say thank you for all you did for me.”
- Joe Brophy
DE BOER ON ERIKSEN
The Dutch manager said: “For me it was very difficult to see those images yesterday. We saw the game live and I had to leave the room.
“I’ve worked for five years with Christian Eriksen and as well there are some players in my team who are in contact with him or are still playing with or who had a good bond with him when he played for Ajax so it was a rollercoaster last night.
“We had a meeting scheduled last night to talk about our tactical gameplay but we rescheduled it for the morning because I didn’t want to speak about football so we did that this morning and everybody could find his own moment and have his own space.
“Daley was quite emotion as well. He had some problems with his own heart as you know and even now Christian Eriksen is one of his best friends so when you’re both at the tournament they have fought for it.
“So there is a lot of emotions going through him so it definitely was not easy for us, for him especially.
“We hear good news coming from Denmark so let’s hope that things will get well for him and now we need to continue and focus on the most important thing next to the normal, [most] important thing [that is] life, which is football. That’s what we did today.”
- Joe Brophy
MORE FROM BLIND
The Netherlands players were together watching the Denmark v Finland clash on Saturday and Blind said: “We were with a number of guys who also experienced Abdelhak Nouri [who was left with permanent brain damage after collapsing during a pre-season friendly while at Ajax] and also with teammates of Christian.
“It has so much impact. It is very recognisable to me and that made it intense. Also for my family. My parents, my wife.”
Blind added: “Leave him alone. Don’t speculate about his future. Give him time and space to recover. If it didn’t go well, it would start haunting your head even more.
“He now even encourages his teammates to play. That’s why I decided to play myself. Also because I’m safe according to the doctors.”
- Joe Brophy
BLIND FAITH
Daley Blind considered withdrawing from Holland’s Euro 2020 opener after seeing his former Ajax team-mate and friend Christian Eriksen collapse after suffering a cardiac arrest on Saturday.
The former Manchester United star has been fitted with an implanted defibrillator after being diagnosed with heart muscle inflammation.
Blind left the pitch in tears following Holland’s 3-2 win over Ukraine on Sunday.
He told Dutch broadcaster NOS: “Yesterday had a huge impact on me. Besides the fact that I know Christian well as a friend, the situation for him is terrible.
“Of course I have also experienced a few things in that area, so that I had to overcome a mental hurdle to play.
“I had a lot of trouble with it, but I’m proud that I did it. Then all the emotion comes out for a while.
“I’ve definitely thought about not taking part. The images and the moment had a lot of impact and I didn’t sleep very well because of them. I really had to overcome a big hurdle to do this.”
- Etienne Fermie
MORNING FOOTBALL FANS
Christian Eriksen "was gone" before he was resuscitated on the pitch, Denmark's team doctor has revealed.
Football has united in support for the Inter Milan midfielder, who is said to be "stable" after collapsing during Saturday's 1-0 loss against Finland.
And doc Morten Boesen said: “He was gone. We did cardiac resuscitation, it was a cardiac arrest.
“How close were we to losing him? I don’t know, but we got him back after one defib [defibrillation] so that’s quite fast.
“The examinations that have been done so far look fine. We don’t have an explanation as to why it happened.”
Eriksen's Denmark team-mates have received psychological help.
But manager Kasper Hjulmand criticised Uefa for asking his team if they wanted to resume the match.
He said: “I think it was the wrong thing to make the decision between the two scenarios in this case.
“The players didn’t know if they lost their best friend and they had to decide.
“I have a feeling we shouldn’t have played, to just get on the bus and go home and see what the next days brought."
But Hjulmand also revealed that Eriksen told him: “I think you are feeling worse than I am. I feel as if I’m about to go training now, boys.”
Meanwhile, ex-Bolton star Fabrice Muamba, who had to retire in 2012 after a similar horrifying experience, hailed the "brilliant" treatment Eriksen received.
Muamba added: “The most important thing and number one priority for us all is to give Christian and his family space and time to heal and recover.”
- Ian Tuckey
HELP FOR DANISH PLAYERS
Christian Eriksen's team-mates received psychological support following the Denmark superstar's collapse i yesterday's match against Finland.
The squad was able to speak to the midfielder once he recovered slightly in hospital, and it was Eriksen who encouraged them to resume the match.
Finland clapped their opponents back onto the field before beating them 1-0, but the result will probably not matter to the Danes after what happened to Eriksen.
And Denmark Sporting Director Peter Moller revealed the players got the chance to express their feelings after the match finished.
He said: “We had psychological help. We had four people come to our hotel last night. Everybody expressed their feelings and how they saw their situation.
“Everybody was really pleased that we talked the situation through. This morning we had the same people come to the hotel and players could express their feelings and thoughts with professional help.
“The conversation with Christian had a massive impact on the players."
- Ian Tuckey
MUAMBA: GIVE ERIKSEN TIME
Fabrice Muamba says Christian Eriksen needs time and space to recover.
Danish star Eriksen, 29, is stable in hospital having suffered a cardiac arrest against Finland.
Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest in Saturday's game with Finland The incident had haunting echoes of Muamba’s own fight for life after collapsing while playing for Bolton against Tottenham in 2012.
Muamba, forced to retire, tweeted: “This makes you realise how fragile life is and how quickly you can lose a loved one.
“Like everyone, I am relieved to hear Christian is in a stable condition and that he is doing ok.
“Credit of course must go to the brilliant medical staff who got to him so quickly and did an amazing job to make sure he was ok.
“His team-mates who rallied around him also did a great job and should be really proud.
“The most important thing and number one priority for us all is to give Christian and his family space and time to heal and recover.”
- Ian Tuckey
KANE JOINS WELL-WISHERS
Christian Eriksen's former Spurs team-mate Harry Kane was among big names to send messages of "love" and support for Christian Eriksen on social media.
And fans who were in the Copenhagen stadium where Eriksen collapsed gathered later outside Rigshospitalet to underline their feelings and support.
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