Danish Former goalkeeper, Peter Schmeichel says UEFA threatened Denmark to resume the Saturday match at Eriksen cardiac arrest.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Danish former goalkeeper, Peter Schmeichel has claimed that UEFA threatened his country 3-0 forfeit if they did not resume Euro 2020 clash against Finland after Eriksen collapsed on the pitch.
Schmeichel said Denmark had little choice but to continue the Saturday game despite seeing a key player rushed to the hospital.
Eriksen’s on-field collapse initially forced Denmark’s Group B clash against Finland in Copenhagen to be suspended after 41 minutes.
Gatekeepers News reported that the midfielder received life-saving CPR before he was taken to hospital.
Both teams subsequently spent an hour in their respective dressing rooms before the match was resumed at 7:30 pm BST (2:30 pm ET).
UEFA released a statement to confirm that the game would be completed on the same day, stating that the two squads had been consulted, following the news that Eriksen was in a stable condition in hospital.
The former goalkeeper, however, stated his country were also warned that they would lose the match by default if they decided to continue the match the next day.
Schmeichel said, “I actually saw an official quote from UEFA yesterday saying that they were following the advice of the player, the players insisted on playing – I know that not to be the truth.
“Or, it’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 noon and finish the 50 minutes and the third option was to forfeit the game, 3-0.
“So, work it out for yourself. Is it the players’ wish to play? Did they have any choice really? I don’t think they had.
“As you can hear from yesterday’s press conference, the coach, he seriously regrets putting the players back on to the pitch.”
Denmark head coach Kasper Hjulmand on the other hand expressed regret over the decision to proceed with the match so soon after Eriksen’s collapse.
Hjulmand said, “I think it was the wrong decision to make between the two scenarios. It was very tough for the players. They didn’t even know if they could probably lose their best friend.
“I have the feeling that we shouldn’t have played and it’s wrong that the players had to decide.”
