Eriksen won’t be the last player to suffer an on-field cardiac arrest

THE world’s reaction to Denmark player Christian Eriksen suffering a cardiac arrest over the weekend proved that football is more than just a sport.

Former Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba, who was forced to retire at the age of 23 following a cardiac arrest while playing against Tottenham Hotspur in 2012, captured the situation best.

“Him being alive is the best thing that can come out of Euro 2020,” Muamba told Sky Sports News.

“Regardless of who wins the tournament, it’s that Christian is okay, he is healthy, if he can remember people which is even better news. That’s what this Euros is about now, it’s about making sure Christian can get home safe and help to build his recovery from there.”

Finland ended up upsetting the Danes by recording a 1-0 win on Saturday, but goal scorer Joel Pohjanpalo opted to do the right thing and respect the mood by not celebrating his goal.

The unfortunate event would have reminded millions throughout the world that there is much more to life than just work or sport.

It remains to be seen what the future will hold for Eriksen, but he and Muamba who survived such ordeals can certainly count themselves lucky as others have not been as fortunate.

Had they not received immediate and quality medical care, the situation could have been fatal.

In 2017, former Ajax starlet Abdelhak Nouri suffered a cardiac arrest in a pre-season friendly against Werder Bremen.

By their own admission the medical treatment provided to Nouri was “inadequate” and he has since been left with permanent brain damage, with his career being brought to an end at the tender age of 20.

The Royal Dutch Football Association’s arbitration panel found that a “failure to resuscitate him with due haste was responsible for causing his brain damage.”

The freak accident robbed Nouri of his career and has hampered his life. We will simply never know what heights he may have reached, seeing as he drew comparisons to Lionel Messi before the incident.

Nouri wore the No 34 shirt at Ajax and he continues to be honoured by former teammates Justin Kluivert, Philippe Sandler, Amin Younes, Kevin Diks, Joel Veltman, Donny van de Beek and Sofyan Amrabat, who have chosen to use the same jersey number at their respective clubs.

Other footballers, who were not as lucky as Eriksen, include Marcvivien Foe, who passed away while playing for Cameroon against France in the 2003 Confederations Cup and former Wits midfielder Faty Papy, who passed away in 2019 while playing for Eswatini club Malanti Chiefs.

Realistically, Eriksen is not going to be the last footballer to suffer a cardiac arrest on the field of play. Football is a highly intensive sport, so it is bound to happen to another victim in the future.

This should hopefully be a message to football authorities around the world to have an immediate plan of action should such a situation arise.