'Disgraceful': BBC slammed over 'unacceptable' Christian Eriksen call

The BBC has been forced to apologise after being condemned in the football world over their coverage of Christian Eriksen's terrifying collapse at Euro 2020.

The Danish star had to be rushed to hospital after falling to the turf towards the end of the first half of his side's 1-0 defeat to Finland at the European football showpiece.

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Eriksen collapsed and had to be revived on the field by medics in devastating scenes that left everyone in attendance and millions watching on around the world distraught.

Rather than cut their coverage around the incident when it was clear that a serious medical incident had taken place, the BBC chose to keep the cameras rolling in a decision that outraged viewers.

Players from both sides were visibly upset, with fans in the stadium left in tears by the shocking incident unfolding in front of them.

Still the cameras kept rolling.

The previously raucous crowd at the Parken Stadium in the Danish capital fell silent in gut-wrenching scenes as the other Danish players, most clearly distraught, formed a circle of red shirts around him to stop anyone from seeing the on-pitch treatment.

Eriksen's stricken partner Sabrina Kvist Jensen eventually made it onto the pitch while the player was still receiving treatment, with Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and captain Simon Kjaer doing their best to console her.

The distress and anxiety on her face was brutally hard for viewers to take, with broadcasters the BBC inundated with complaints on social media.

BBC responds to backlash over coverage

The BBC offered their apologies for the broadcast in a statement a short time later.

“We apologise to anyone who was upset by the images broadcast," the statement read.

“In-stadium coverage is controlled by Uefa as the host broadcaster, and as soon as the match was suspended, we took our coverage off air as quickly as possible.”

After around 15 minutes Eriksen was stretchered off the field followed by the rest of the Denmark team, while Finland's players also walked off.

The fans in the stadium, who were celebrating the chance to see their national team again live at the stadium, sat silently in their seats waiting for news of Eriksen's condition.

However soon after stadium-wide chants of "Christian" and "Eriksen" from both sets of supporters began to ring out as news of his status began to filter through to supporters.

They were brought to their feet when stadium announcers said that Eriksen was "stable", and the ground rose as one when to was announced that the teams would come out to finish the match.

A huddle among Finland's players were loudly applauded by all four sides of the stadium before both teams began their warm ups before restarting the match.

Eriksen has spoken to teammates

The Danish Football Union (DBU) said the Inter Milan player was awake and had been able to speak to teammates.

DBU director Peter Moeller told Danmarks Radio (DR): "We've been in contact with him, and the players have spoken to Christian. That's the great news. He's doing fine, and they are playing the game for him,"

After Eriksen was carried off, a crisis meeting was held with both teams and match officials over whether to restart the game and the players resumed the game at 8:30 pm, finishing the final minutes of the first half.

The match was poised at 0-0 at half-time.

Denmark dominated the match before and after the traumatic incident, but Finland striker Joel Pohjanpalo headed home the winner on the hour with his side's only attempt of the game.

"Of course it was hard for us to go to the pitch, and I can only imagine how hard it was for Denmark," scorer Pohjanpalo told Finnish broadcaster YLE.

"A great victory for us, but the foremost thing on our minds is Christian's condition."

The hosts had 22 efforts but could not make them count, including a tame penalty from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg that was saved by Lukas Hradecky with 16 minutes remaining.

with agencies

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