BBC says sorry over ‘abhorrent’ Eriksen shots
THE BBC has apologised for broadcasting distressing footage of footballer Christian Eriksen receiving lifesaving treatment.
The former Tottenham player collapsed during Denmark’s Euro 2020 match against Finland on Saturday and was given CPR on the pitch before being taken to hospital, where he remains in a stable condition.
The BBC continued to broadcast pictures that zoomed in on the 29year-old midfielder as he was being treated, with cameras at one point even panning to his upset teammates and his distressed partner, Sabrina Kvist Jensen, who was watching on in floods of tears.
The live coverage continued for 15 minutes before the BBC cut back to the studio, and viewers condemned the corporation’s ‘unacceptable’ and ‘abhorrent’ actions. Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright tweeted: ‘CUT TO THE STUDIO!!!!’
Host Gary Lineker said it was the ‘most difficult, distressing and emotional’ broadcast he had been a part of and admitted it would have been best for the cameras to have ‘stayed on a wide of the stadium’.
‘I understand some of you would have been upset with some of the images shown (we were too),’ he said on Twitter. ‘Obviously these were the host pictures and out of our control. Apologies.’
The BBC apologised but said its in-stadium coverage was controlled by UEFA as the host broadcaster.
One viewer wrote on Twitter: ‘Filming a crying wife, crying teammates and worst of all the face of someone actively receiving CPR is abhorrent. Whether or not the BBC chose the cameras, they still streamed it.’