A Euro 2020 football match was suspended on Saturday evening after Danish footballer Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch and medical staff fought to resuscitate him in front of shocked players and fans.
Play was halted towards the end of the first half of the match between Denmark and Finland in Copenhagen on Saturday when Eriksen fell to the ground and began convulsing.
Several players and English referee Anthony Taylor immediately called for help. Medical staff rushed on the pitch and could be seen performing CPR for several minutes.
Eriksen’s Danish teammates formed a shield to provide privacy from the thousands of supporters in the stands. Television coverage of the match ended shortly afterwards.
The Danish Football Association later said Eriksen was “awake” in hospital where his condition was “stable”.
The players returned to the pitch as fans of both sides chanted Eriksen’s name.
Eriksen, 29, is a star player, who won Italy’s Serie A football league this season with Inter Milan. Known as a creative midfielder, he has represented his country 108 times and also played for some of Europe’s leading clubs, such as England’s Tottenham Hotspur and Ajax of The Netherlands.
The match between Denmark and Finland was the third match of Euro 2020, a month-long tournament that kicked off on Friday and features 24 national teams playing in 11 cities across Europe.
The competition had been delayed for a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with strict health and hygiene protocols adopted to help prevent an outbreak among teams.
Finland went on to win the game 1-0 after a 59th minute goal by Joel Pohjanpalo.