Olympic Broadcasts Stopped Showing the Argentina vs. the Netherlands Field Hockey Game After a Gruesome Injury

The women’s Olympic field hockey battle between Argentina and the Netherlands yesterday (August 7) was brought to a standstill for several minutes after a distressing scene in which a player suffered a gruesome injury.

During the women’s semifinal event, Dutch forward Joosje Burg was injured and eventually placed in an ambulance after getting hit in the face by a powerful shot at point blank range. The incident occurred with two minutes left in the first quarter at Yves-du-Manoir Stadium amid a ball getting contested mid-game.

The 27-year-old almost instantly fell to the ground and began profusely bleeding as both teammates and medical staff jumped into action to help her. Given how severe the scene was, broadcasters opted not to have cameras continue to pan on the athlete amid her receiving treatment. However, according to Fox News Sports, one TV commentator on Eurosport said the following of the ordeal: “They’ve got to try and stop the flow. There’s a lot of blood there.”

In the end, the Olympic match ended up being paused for more than five minutes as the medical staff continued to give Burg the attention she needed in an ambulance. Miraculously, she was eventually able to walk back on the field with the help of medical personnel.

Things continued to take a turn during the matchup, however, when the game remained stalled due to officials needing to clean up all the blood still on the turf.

Eventually, the game picked back up, and Burg was able to continue her effort, albeit with her nose taped up and in a different jersey. (The field hockey player needed to change into a different one due to all the blood on her original apparel *and* her number wound up being crafted on the spot out of tape by staff members so she could be identified by the referee on the pitch.)

Luckily, the team had a massive comeback because the Netherlands went on to win the battle, 3-0 (FYI, the score was 0-0 at the time Burg suffered her injury)! The team will now go on to face China, who defeated Belgium in a separate game, in the final tomorrow at 2pm EST.

Literally tearing up, wbu?

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