Euros 2020: BBC receives thousands of complaints over airing Christian Eriksen collapse

A BBC logo is pictured on a television screen inside the BBC's New Broadcasting House office in central London, on November 12, 2012. The BBC announced that two of its executives were standing aside on Monday and warned more heads may roll as it battles with a major crisis over its reporting of sex abuse that toppled the director-general. AFP PHOTO / CARL COURT (Photo credit should read CARL COURT/AFP via Getty Images)

The BBC has received over 6400 complaints for its coverage of Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsing during the Euro 2020 match against Finland earlier this month.

Eriksen received CPR on the field in Copenhagen after suffering a cardiac arrest and collapsing as he chased the ball. Doctors resuscitated the footballer on the pitch with a defibrillator.

Footage aired on the BBC showed medics treating Eriksen, alongside footage of his distressed partner, as his teammates tried to shield him from view.

Gary Lineker, BBC’s in-studio presenter, apologised shortly after the event, saying: “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 [shot] of the stadium. Apologies.”

The BBC issued an apology through a statement released the same day, it said:

“Everyone at the BBC is hoping Christian Eriksen 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.”

BBC statement

The match was suspended for two hours, before resuming later in the evening.

Eriksen, 29, is one of Denmark’s star players with more than 100 appearances for his country. 

He won the Italian league title this year with Inter Milan. He joined Inter from Tottenham Hotspur, where he spent seven seasons before leaving 18 months ago.

Euro 2020 began on 11 June 2021, a year later than planned, and is taking place in 11 cities across Europe.