A massive global television audience watched in horror today as Christian Ericksen, Denmark’s best player, collapsed on the field just before halftime of his game against Finland.
Ericksen collapsed as he went to take a throw-in, according to reports. He was walking towards the sideline and when the ball was thrown in his direction, it hit him and he fell to the ground.
AP Teammates rushed to assist him and frantically called for a medical team. The medics were administering CPR on the field, with the worst possible outcome looking likely at one point. Teammates surrounded him on the field and the crowd in his home stadium in Copenhagen went silent for the 10 minutes he lay prone. ESPN was broadcasting the game to a worldwide audience.
Ericksen was taken to the hospital and stabilized.
A Twitter report from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) said a crisis meeting has taken place with both teams and match officials. The match was suspended with the score 0-0.
UPDATE: A Twitter post has indicated the game will go on later today.
“Following the request made by players of both teams, UEFA has agreed to restart the match between Denmark and Finland tonight at 20:30 CET (TBC). The last four minutes of the first half will be played, there will then be a 5-minute half-time break followed by the second half.”
