COPENHAGEN — The European Championship match between Denmark and Finland was suspended on Saturday evening after Christian Eriksen, Denmark’s best player and the creative heart of its team, collapsed on the pitch shortly before half-time with what the Danish football federation later confirmed was a cardiac arrest.
What followed, in front of a stunned Parken Stadium and a television audience across the continent, was a rescue. Medics reached Eriksen within seconds, performed CPR on the field, and used a defibrillator. The Danish players formed a circle around their teammate to shield him from the cameras; several were in tears. Finnish fans began chanting “Christian”, and the Danes answered: “Eriksen”.
Eriksen, 29, was taken to hospital conscious. The Danish federation said he was awake and undergoing further examinations. Photographs of him sitting up as he was carried off on a stretcher brought the first relief of a terrible evening.
In a decision that will be debated, UEFA and the two federations agreed to resume the match later the same night, at the players’ request, once news came through that Eriksen was stable. Finland won 1-0. Nobody will remember the result.
Eriksen plays his club football for Inter Milan, with whom he won the Italian title last month, and has 108 caps for Denmark. Saturday’s scenes — the speed of the medics, the wall of red shirts, the chanting strangers — have already become the defining image of this tournament, whatever happens in the four weeks to come.
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