COPENHAGEN (AP) — Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand stepped up his criticism of UEFA on Tuesday for not giving his players the option to postpone the game against Finland in the wake of Christian Eriksen’s collapse.
Hjulmand said UEFA failed to “lead with compassion” and that his players were put “in a hugely difficult situation” after the incident on Saturday at the European Championship.
The Euro 2020 game resumed following a suspension of about 90 minutes after Eriksen suffered cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated with a defibrillator.
Denmark was given the option by UEFA to either resume that evening or come back at noon on Sunday. That has led to widespread anger in Denmark and a spat between the team and UEFA about whether the players were pressured into coming back onto the field so soon.
Hjulmand pointed out that newly created coronavirus protocols for Euro 2020 allow UEFA to postpone a game for 48 hours if a certain number of players from one team test positive or have to self isolate.
Finland scored after the resumption and won 1-0. Had Denmark refused to play, it would have risked being handed a 3-0 forfeit loss.