BBC’s Christian Eriksen cardiac arrest coverage prompt 6,417 complaints after ‘intrusive’ live footage showed Denmark star’s medical treatment and his wife crying and fearing he was dead following collapse on the pitch
The BBC have received 6,417 complaints for their ‘intrusive’ live footage of Christian Eriksen getting emergency CPR after he suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch during Denmark’s opening Euro 2020 game against Finland.
Cameras showed medics desperately trying to stabilise Eriksen, who has since been discharged from hospital, while his crying team-mates formed a protective ring around him.
The BBC continued to broadcast the distressing scenes and also showed the player’s wife in tears on the sideline before cutting to the studio.
Fans on social media have slammed the BBC for their coverage of Christian Eriksen’s collapse
The broadcaster were widely criticised for their handling of the situation and said the stadium coverage was controlled by UEFA before later issuing an apology for any upset caused to viewers.
The BBC said viewers had complained about its coverage showing ‘intrusive footage of the player receiving emergency medical attention’ while others described it as ‘unacceptable’ and accused the broadcaster of ‘traumatising an entire nation’.
Eriksen, 29, suddenly collapsed on the pitch towards the end of the first half of Denmark’s game with Finland, leaving team-mates, opposition players and fans in tears.
In a statement at the time, the BBC said: ‘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.’
Presenter Gary Lineker described the incident as ‘the most difficult, distressing and emotional broadcast I’ve ever been involved with’.
He later tweeted: ‘I understand some of you would have been upset with some of the images shown (we were too). Obviously these were the host pictures and out of our control. They should have stayed on a wide of the stadium. Apologies.’
Lineker’s fellow BBC pundit Ian Wright, also slammed the broadcaster, writing on Twitter at the time: ‘CUT TO THE STUDIO FFS!!!!’
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