The collapse of Eriksen catches Chilean soccer by surprise: the local reality in the face of a maximum emergency

Christian Eriksen vanishes in the middle of the game between Denmark and Finland, for the European Championship, and the world seems to stop for several minutes. The heart of the Danish midfielder and Inter Milan, too. This is proven by the statements of doctors such as Sanjay Sharma, who treated him at Tottenham, who assures that the footballer was dead for a few seconds and anticipates that his future in football is uncertain or, even more, improbable. Shock and fear seize everyone who circulates around the most popular sport in the world. And it arrives in Chile. To social networks and even to the ANFP itself, where the question arises naturally. What would happen if a similar situation occurs in the Chilean championship? Is Chilean football prepared in these times to save a life as, fortunately, it ended up happening in the case of the Inter midfielder?

In any case, when the advances that are in the present did not exist, a similar event occurred in Chilean soccer. It happened on the afternoon of August 30, 1955, in the match between Palestino and Magallanes, in Santa Laura. At 43 ′, the referee of the match, the Argentine resident in Chile Raúl Iglesias, collapsed as a result of a heart attack, dying on the field. The event took everyone by surprise. Just like the Dane, 66 years later. Incredibly, the game continued to be played until the end of the first half.

César Kalazich, president of the Chilean Society of Sports Medicine and a member of the ANFP Medical Commission, admits the alarm went off in Quilín. That several raised the same dilemma, although among the professionals who come together in the instance, which has its focus on the prevention of Covid-19 infections, the concern had been raised a little earlier. “We have been trying to regularize these situations since last year. That in the parties there is an ambulance with a defibrillator, for example. Most teams have them. The cadastre is not yet finished. This week we are going to finish it. We hurried him around this, but already last year we began to receive information and discuss it with the League Management. There are some things that we would like to see exist, like that each club has a doctor on the court, which does happen in the First Division and in the B and Second Division is where it is lacking. The clubs try to lower costs, but it seems to us that it is essential, that it must be included as an obligation. What happened with Eriksen is a test, “he explains.

The defibrillator requirement dates back to the mid-2000s, after the traumatic death of Cameroonian Marc-Vivien Foé, at the 2003 Confederations Cup. However, it is not always met. For some, it is still considered “an unnecessary expense”.

“The idea is to include all three categories. Chilean soccer must have a minimum standard. They are basic requirements. The Medical Commission is gathering that information, trying to do a kind of training, which several clubs have requested, in CPR.. Some have been done, through the Meds clinic and an insurance company, but obviously we need to deepen and increase training as something basic. Even with what happened with Eriksen, one can watch the video and learn what was done right, wrong, or what was done late or on time. Eriksen was dead for a few seconds. They revived it after two minutes ”, he postulates.

In Chile, medical check-ups are applied precisely to avoid risks. Before traveling to the Copa América, the footballers underwent urine, blood and cardiology tests. The same had happened before the eliminatory match against Bolivia. Clubs also practice them. At the beginning of the season, it is usual for footballers to undergo reviews. The same happens before each signing.

“In general, at the beginning of each season or upon arrival at the clubs, they undergo a medical examination, a pre-participation evaluation, which includes the collection of the player’s medical and family history, a physical examination and an electrocardiogram. Some do an echocardiogram too. What we want to find out is whether the evaluation standard is the same in all clubs. We think so. It’s a common thing to do, ”says Kalazich. The doctor even clarifies the essential function of the investigation: “The main one is cardiovascular, to minimize the risk of sudden death”.

Another key task is the early detection of eventual pathologies, although in the case of Eriksen it was Sanjay Sharma himself, who knows his clinical file by heart, who clarified that there was no history in this regard. “In general, the risk of sudden death begins to increase at 14-15 years. There the investigations begin. There, although it is rare, we can find some pathology. In professional football it is more difficult to find it, because the filters have already passed. There are exceptions, such as the case of Ever Cantero. Two or three cases, hopefully, that were not investigated. If so, the footballer must be separated, because there is a vital risk”, Sostiene Kalazich.

World football has clear protocols to deal with these types of emergencies. According to the instructions, any collapse on the playing field should be treated as if it were a heart attack. Those provisions were strengthened after the death of Marc-Vivien Foé from Cameroon. Since then, all the major events in world football have defibrillators on the edge of the playing field. “In the event of a non-contact collapse or fainting, any medical unit (team or neutral) can jump onto the field, without waiting for the referee’s order (who may not see the action). The recovery maneuvers must be carried out on the pitch, seeking stabilization, ”explained journalist and former FIFA official Michael Boys, through his Twitter account.

“Even the official television broadcast has a protocol (go to general shots and not show the medical action), avoiding all morbidity. This was only partially fulfilled in today’s broadcast, ”he adds.

“What about the match? There is a crisis committee, planned in advance, in which the organization, local authorities and teams participate. It is decided what to do and it is communicated to those involved, attendees, transmission and media (suspension, in this case) “he adds. “The last thing: it is not necessary for the ambulance to enter the field itself, since the necessary implements are portable. Yes, it is essential that medical teams act immediately and with full support. They save lives, as happened with Eriksen this time ”, he concludes.

In 2016, Chilean tennis witnessed a dramatic situation on a court. In the final of the Las Condes Cup, Jorge Seguel, father of the player Daniela Seguel, suffered a sudden stoppage and died on the journey, in less than 10 minutes, between the El Alba Club and the San Carlos de Apoquindo UC Clinic. On that occasion, he had to be transferred in a private vehicle, since there was no ambulance available. However, according to the doctors who treated him, “it was difficult to think that an ambulance would have saved him.”

With the passage of time, the Ministry of Sports was taking action on the matter. “In the middle of last year, by order of the Ministry, all federations have a defibrillator. In addition, we were given a training course for officials “, explains Sergio Elías, president of the Tennis Federation, who also says that “Players of the juvenile circuit are required to obtain a medical certificate in order to compete.”

In basketball, there is also a concern about the matter. “Since May 2017, when we take over, there are medical and paramedical personnel for any situation; we have always had an ambulance. In addition, in each training of the teams there are medical personnel. Now we buy a defibrillator, which we also have in the federation. We have attached great importance to this issue and we have a complete medical team in charge. Without a doubt, we are prepared for a situation like Eriksen’s, which I hope never happens “says Iran Arcos, helmsman of the Basketball Federation.

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