News|Football

Shocked football world rallies around Christian Eriksen

Football players and fans take to social media to send their wishes for Danish midfielder’s recovery after his collapse during Euro 2020 match.

Finland and Denmark fans cheer the name of Denmark's Christian Eriksen inside the stadium after the match is postponed [Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters]
Published On 12 Jun 2021

Shocked football players and fans flooded social media to send their wishes to Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen after he collapsed on the pitch during his country’s Euro 2020 match with Finland.

The 29-year-old fell suddenly to the ground in the 42nd minute of Saturday’s game while running near the left touchline of Parken Stadium in Copenhagen. He was resuscitated by medical staff and was then taken to hospital.

UEFA, the tournament’s ruling body, said Eriksen was “in a stable condition”, while the Danish football federation said he was awake. The match resumed at 18:30 GMT.

Earlier, the dramatic scenes had brought an instant sense of shock to the stadium, where about 15,000 fans fell into hushed silence. Some supporters could be seen crying and hugging in the stands, before chants of Eriksen’s name filled Parken by both teams’ fans.

A huge roar then went up from all supporters when stadium announcers said in a video screen statement Eriksen was “stable and awake”.

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Later on Saturday, Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku scored a goal as his country took on Russia and celebrated by running straight to a television camera and saying “I love you” to Eriksen. The two are team-mates at Italian club Inter Milan.

The incident involving Eriksen prompted an outpouring of support for the player on social media, with current and former footballers sending their prayers for his recovery.

Fabrice Muamba, who also collapsed on the pitch in 2012 in White Hart Lane while playing for Bolton against Tottenham, said on Twitter “Please God”.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Christian Eriksen and his family,” Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo said on Instagram. “The world of football stands together hoping for good news. I’m counting on finding you soon back on the pitch, Chris! Stay strong!”

Eriksen’s team-mate at Inter Milan, Lautaro Martinez, also wrote: “Come on Chris! Please Chris,” while the club posted on Twitter, “Forza Chris, all of our thoughts are with you!”

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Inter Milan team-mate and Moroccan football star Achraf Hakimi simply tweeted “Eriksen Please”.

Tottenham, for whom Eriksen made 305 appearances for seven years starting from 2013, said, “All of our thoughts are with Christian Eriksen and his family.”

Canada’s national team also sent its best wishes to Eriksen and his family.

Mesut Ozil, attacking midfielder for Turkish club Fenerbahce, expressed his shock and said, “We’re all with you.”

Source: Al Jazeera

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