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COPENHAGEN (AP) – Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand stepped up his criticism of UEFA on Tuesday for failing to give his players the option to postpone the game against Finland following Christian Eriksen’s collapse .
Hjulmand said UEFA did not “lead with compassion” and that its players were placed “in an extremely difficult situation” after Saturday’s incident at the European Championship.
The Euro 2020 game resumed after a suspension of around 90 minutes after Eriksen suffered cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated with a defibrillator.
UEFA gave Denmark the option of resuming that evening or returning at noon on Sunday. This has led to widespread anger in Denmark and a row between the team and UEFA over whether the players have been forced to return to the pitch so soon.
Hjulmand pointed out that the newly created coronavirus protocols for Euro 2020 allow UEFA to postpone a 48-hour game if a number of players on a team test positive or need to self-isolate.
“The only real leadership would have been to put the players on a bus and send them home. And then deal with it afterwards, ”Hjulmand said. “With corona cases, it is possible to postpone a match for 48 hours. But with cardiac arrest, apparently it doesn’t. And I think it is wrong. You don’t necessarily find good leadership in protocols. Good leadership can sometimes be about leading with compassion.
UEFA defended its handling of the situation on Monday and repeated on several occasions that it was not possible to postpone the game any longer as Finland are due to play their second group game on Wednesday in St. Petersburg, Russia. Denmark face Belgium in Group B on Thursday in Copenhagen.
Finland scored after the restart and won 1-0. If Denmark had refused to play, they would have risked losing 3-0 by forfeit.
“UEFA is confident that it has treated the matter with the utmost respect for the sensitive situation and for the players,” said the European football governing body. “It was only decided to resume the game after both teams asked to end the game on the same evening.”
However, UEFA’s insistence that it was the Danish players who demanded the resumption on Saturday angered both Hjulmand and his players. They insist that it would have been worse to come back on Sunday after a sleepless night and that they should have had a third option.
“It’s completely wrong to give the impression that we are the ones who came in and said we want to keep playing as our first option. It was a choice between the two scenarios, ”Hjulmand said. “And then you can discuss whether we’ve been under pressure. I felt that the players – and us close to them – were under this pressure and this dilemma. It was an extremely difficult situation to live with. “
Eriksen remains in hospital and sent her first public message via social media on Tuesday, thanking supporters around the world for their wishes.
Denmark striker Martin Braithwaite said on Monday that he and his teammates would have preferred a longer postponement.
“It was not our wish to play,” said Braithwaite. “But we were told we had to make a decision. … There were a lot of players who weren’t fit to play the game. We were in a completely different place.
Hjulmand said he does not expect any compensation from UEFA, but hopes the governing body will learn of the incident.
“Looking back, I don’t feel good that we were there (back on the pitch) after the incident,” Hjulmand said. “I think it showed so much strength from the guys to be able to come out and play. It shows so much character, so much strength, and I’m very proud of it.
“Having said that, I don’t think it was the right thing to be offered those two choices, play now or tomorrow at 12.… And maybe that’s a learning lesson for the future.”
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