Referees are human, too. Anthony Taylor's calmness and compassion must also be remembered in the Christian Eriksen story.
Plus Danes not forgotten Sterling controversy.
“Anthony, I cannot carry on.” So said Simon Kjaer, Denmark’s distinguished captain, to Anthony Taylor, the English referee, five minutes into the restart of Denmark’s game with Finland in Copenhagen at the last European Championship. Kjaer was understandably traumatised by what had befallen his friend and team-mate, Christian Eriksen, who collapsed on the pitch with a cardiac arrest and was now in hospital. Kjaer was soon replaced by Jannik Vestergaard.
So as Eriksen, probably Kjaer too, take the field against the English in Frankfurt on Thursday evening, their character will be applauded. It is also worth remembering the role of Taylor, who delivered a masterclass of crisis management in the Parken Stadion. Taylor drew on his training and experiences as a prison officer, dealing with pressure situations, some involving cardiac arrests, when a cool head is required. Taylor was also on the field at Turf Moor in 2018 when the assessor Eddie Wolstenholme collapsed.
The story of what followed Eriksen’s collapse at 17:43 on June 12, 2021 is well-chronicled. Kjaer was magnificent, reacting so quickly, placing Eriksen on his side, and ensuring his airway was open. Kjaer started the CPR process continued by Morten Boesen, the team doctor, and his brother Anders, the stadium doctor, who ran on and applied the defibrillator. They’d been immediately called on by Taylor, who was closeby Eriksen when the midfield player fell.