Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand has stepped up his criticism of UEFA for not giving his gamers the choice to postpone the sport towards Finland within the wake of Christian Eriksen’s collapse
COPENHAGEN — Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand stepped up his criticism of UEFA on Tuesday for not giving his gamers the choice to postpone the sport towards Finland within the wake of Christian Eriksen’s collapse.
Hjulmand mentioned UEFA didn’t “lead with compassion” and that his gamers had been put “in a vastly troublesome state of affairs” after the incident on Saturday on the European Championship.
The Euro 2020 sport resumed following a suspension of about 90 minutes after Eriksen suffered cardiac arrest and needed to be resuscitated with a defibrillator.
Denmark was given the choice by UEFA to both resume that night or come again at midday on Sunday. That has led to widespread anger in Denmark and a spat between the group and UEFA about whether or not the gamers had been pressured into coming again onto the sphere so quickly.
”The one actual management would have been to place the gamers on a bus and ship them house. After which take care of it after,” Hjulmand mentioned. ”With corona instances it’s potential to postpone a sport for 48 hours. However with cardiac arrest, apparently it’s not. And I believe that’s improper. You don’t essentially discover good management within the protocols. Good management can generally be to steer with compassion.”
UEFA on Monday defended its dealing with of the state of affairs and has repeatedly mentioned it wasn’t potential to postpone the sport for longer as a result of Finland is because of play its second group sport on Wednesday in St. Petersburg, Russia. Denmark performs Belgium in Group B in Copenhagen on Thursday.
Finland scored after the resumption and received 1-0. Had Denmark refused to play, it could have risked being handed a 3-0 forfeit loss.
“UEFA is bound it handled the matter with utmost respect for the delicate state of affairs and for the gamers,” the governing physique of European soccer mentioned. “It was determined to restart the match solely after the 2 groups requested to complete the sport on the identical night.”
Nevertheless, the insistence from UEFA that it was the Denmark gamers who requested the resumption on Saturday has rankled each Hjulmand and his gamers. They insist that it could have been worse to return again Sunday after a sleepless evening and that they need to have been given a 3rd possibility.
“It is fully improper to present the notion that it was we who got here and mentioned we needed to proceed enjoying as our first possibility. It was a alternative between the 2 situations,” Hjulmand mentioned. ”After which you’ll be able to argue whether or not we had been put below strain. I felt that the gamers — and us near them — had been put below that strain and got that dilemma. It was a vastly troublesome state of affairs to be in.”
Eriksen stays within the hospital and despatched his first public message by way of social media on Tuesday, thanking supporters from all over the world for his or her well-wishes.
Denmark ahead Martin Braithwaite mentioned Monday that he and his teammates would have most popular an extended postponement.
”It was not our want to play,” Braithwaite mentioned. “However we had been instructed we needed to decide. … There have been many gamers who weren’t in a situation to play the match. We had been in a totally totally different place.”
Hjulmand mentioned he’s not anticipating any sort of compensation from UEFA however is hoping that the governing physique learns from the incident.
“Wanting again, I don’t really feel proper that we had been there (again on the sphere) after the incident,” Hjulmand mentioned. “I believe it confirmed a lot energy from the fellows, to have the ability to exit and play. That exhibits a lot character, a lot energy, and I’m very pleased with that.
“Having mentioned that, I don’t suppose it was the appropriate factor to be given these two selections, play now or tomorrow at 12. … And possibly that’s a studying lesson for the longer term.”
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