English official Anthony Taylor has been praised for his “perfect” handling of Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest during the Denmark v Finland match by UEFA’s referees chief.
The Danish playmaker collapsed just before half-time in the match on June 12. Taylor immediately recognised the seriousness of the situation and signalled for medics to come on within seconds.
His quick thinking, along with that of Denmark captain Simon Kjaer, has been widely praised, and UEFA chief refereeing officer Roberto Rosetti said on Friday: “Everyone recognised that Anthony was perfect. He managed this difficult moment in a great way.
“We are proud about his behaviour, we are proud about his cold blood.
“We recommended to the referees that safety is first, it is the most important target for us. The referees must, and they are ready, to stop the match immediately in these situations. Anthony was amazing.”
The Danish football association confirmed last Friday that Eriksen, formerly of Tottenham and now with Inter Milan, had been discharged from hospital in Copenhagen.
He has been fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD).
Eriksen visited the rest of the Denmark squad after his release from hospital and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel told CNN on Friday: “It was great to see him. That helped a lot of the guys I think just to see him and erase the last image we had of him on the pitch.
“To see him in real life and to see that he was okay…it was really important.”
Taylor’s performances in the group phase of the tournament have led to him being awarded the Italy v Austria last-16 match at Wembley on Saturday night.
Asked why he had been appointed for the match, Rosetti said: “He’s a top referee. He’s an excellent referee and he is having a great tournament.
“This is an important match, like the other seven (last-16 ties). There is no other explanation.”
