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Men’s football Uefa to look at match reschedule rule change

UEFA will look into changing the rules surrounding the rescheduling of games but warned that “there are not 100 options.”

Danish FA chair Jesper Moller demanded a change following Denmark being forced to continue the match after midfielder Christian Eriksen suffered cardiac arrest during the game.

The 29-year-old Inter Milan midfielder had to be resuscitated on the pitch at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen after slumping to the ground during the first half of his side’s 1-0 Euro 2020 Group B defeat to Finland on Saturday evening.

Though the game was temporarily postponed, both teams were made to finish the game hours later.

Uefa claim that it was the decision of both sets of players to continue the game the same day but Denmark have since countered that, saying their options were to play the same day, come back 24 hours later or forfeit the match 3-0.

Moller has now said that the rules must be adapted, especially after manager Kasper Hjulmand pointed out that “coronavirus allows you to postpone a match for 48 hours. A cardiac arrest obviously does not. That, I think, is wrong.”

“I agree with the national coach and the players that the match should not be resumed,” Moller explained.

“It was a wrong decision and completely untenable that the players had to be on the field so soon after the horrible experience.

“That situation players and coaches should not be brought into, because it is and should not be their decision.

“Now we want an evaluation of the entire decision-making process so that we can get all the relevant facts and information on the table.

“We must have looked at a change in the rules so that we are never in the same situation again.

“We are ready to present a resolution in Uefa.”

Euro 2020 tournament director Martin Kallen said Uefa would look again at the regulations after the competition as part of a debriefing but warned: “There are not 100 options.”

“Of course we will look after the tournament if there is another solution which we could bring forward, but if you look at the tournament calendar there are three days in between, then you need to continue to play,” he said.

Kallen said the Danes were offered the option to postpone until midday on Sunday or later that day, or even until the Monday. He said if there was a three-day delay, “at a certain stage the tournament has a problem.”

Denmark have since been preparing for today’s game against Belgium, where they will return to the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen.

Captain Simon Kjaer believes the game will give Denmark “peace in our minds” as they “play for Christian.”

In a statement thanking everyone for their support, Kjaer said: “It has been some very special days, where football has not been the most important thing.

“A shock, that will be part of me — part of all of us — forever. The only thing that is important and really matters, is that Christian is OK.

“I am proud of how we reacted as a team and how we stood together in these difficult times. I am touched and grateful for all of the support.

“Today, we will enter the pitch against Belgium with Christian in our hearts and thoughts. It gives us peace in our minds, which allows us to focus on the game of football.

“We will play for Christian, and as always for all of Denmark. This is the greatest motivation for us all.”

Meanwhile, Professor Sanjay Sharma, who chairs the Football Association’s expert cardiac consensus group, has expressed strong doubts over Eriksen playing professionally again after Saturday’s incident and said: “In the UK we’d be very strict about it.”

Eriksen is to be fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), with national team doctor Morten Boesen saying: “After Christian has been through different heart examinations it has been decided that he should have an ICD.

“This device is necessary after cardiac attack due to rhythm disturbances.

“Christian has accepted the solution and the plan has moreover been confirmed by specialists nationally and internationally who all recommend the same treatment.

“We encourage everybody to give Christian and his family peace and privacy [in] the following time.”

Daley Blind, a close friend and former Ajax teammate of Eriksen, has played in the Netherlands with an ICD fitted since twice experiencing cardiac symptoms during matches in 2019 and 2020. 

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