The BBC have apologised after they failed to cut away from live broadcast footage showing distressing scenes involving former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Christian Eriksen.
Eriksen collapsed suddenly in the 42nd minute of his side’s Euro 2020 opening match against Finland while running near the left touchline after a Denmark throw-in.
Silence fell over the 16,000 fans in attendance and players from both sides gathered around the Dane with one appearing to attempt to give him medical attention.
Some viewers were furious with the broadcaster for their decision not to return to the studio and instead showed live footage of the medical team attempting to perform CPR on the Inter Milan player while his wife watched on in distress on the touchline.
The Danish FA later confirmed that Eriksen was awake in hospital and all undergo further examinations.
Other broadcasters including DR from Eriksen’s homeland cut the live TV feed, instead showing aerial footage of the stadium.
The match later resumed with Finland winning the encounter 1-0.
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A BBC spokesperson told The Telegraph: “Everyone at the BBC is hoping Christian Erikson makes a full recovery. We apologise to anyone who was upset by the images broadcast.
“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.”
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