BBC received thousands of complaints over shocking decision to show Christian Eriksen & his wife while he fought for life on pitch
The scale of the fury provoked by the BBC's bizarre choice to continue broadcasting live footage of stricken Denmark star Christian Eriksen during his shocking collapse at Euro 2020 has been revealed, with thousands slamming them.
In a move that was widely condemned by appalled viewers, the BBC kept the cameras rolling while Eriksen endured life-threatening moments on the pitch, haplessly misjudging the highly sensitive scenes that featured his team-mates crowding around the midfielder in an attempt to protect his privacy.
In a harrowing state of affairs that it was hard to imagine anyone being keen to continue watching, Eriksen's wife, Sabrina, was shown as she approached the pitch in tears, fearing the worst for her husband after medics gave him CPR in one of the most disturbing incidents ever witnessed in a football match.
The BBC said viewers had found the footage "intrusive", adding that it had received 6,417 complaints about its colossal error of judgement.
Whoever decided to show footage of poor Eriksen's wife in pieces during yesterday's game needs to be sacked immediately!! Shocking to broadcast her grief.
— Jade (@JadeyFeNix) June 13, 2021
There should be policies in place to cut live feeds during emergency situations like this. Continuing to broadcast scenes from the pitch for that length of time was completely uncalled for.Whoever decided to pan the camera towards Eriksen's wife needs sacking. #DENFIN
— Daniel (@Collinho95) June 12, 2021
"Don’t ever want to see the BBC or any of these other international broadcasters virtue signal or apologize for a swearword ever again," seethed one horrified fan as they watched the ordeal unfold during the Danes' group stage clash with Finland.
"To spend 15 minutes showing Eriksen being resuscitated, zoom in on that and his eyes after he went down, then show his wife crying? Disgrace."
fire the camera guy focusing on christian eriksen’s wife after he collapsed and the director too. deciding to show live footage of his wife is utterly disgusting & inhumane
— Omar (@crackyasshoe) June 12, 2021
Don’t ever want to see the BBC or any of these other international broadcasters virtue signal or apologise for a swear word ever again.To spend 15 minutes showing Eriksen being resuscitated, zoom in on that and his eyes after he went down, then show his wife crying?Disgrace.
— Messipraanthan😎 (@meolessi01) June 12, 2021
Others called for the bosses leading the broadcast to be sacked, with one critic fuming: "Trying to zoom in on Eriksen then show his wife – f*cking disgusting. Just turn it off."
"Fire the camera guy focusing on Christian Eriksen’s wife after he collapsed – and the director too," demanded another. "Deciding to show live footage of his wife is utterly disgusting and inhumane."
Still haven't forgotten that the cameramen were filming Eriksen & his wife while people were trying to save his life & broadcasters thought it was a good idea to show it rather than cut to the studio.
— CLARTYNEXTDOOR (@ohsoyoureSmalls) June 24, 2021
We need to criticize UEFA for showing literal closeups of Eriksen AND his wife. This is beyond disgraceful. Disgusting behavior to even show that on TV . And don’t share the clips man , also beyond disrespectful
— CC (@culeclown) June 12, 2021
The BBC apologized in a statement shortly after the program, saying sorry 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," it claimed.
Eriksen has now left hospital after making a remarkable recovery that included a successful operation to fit a defibrillator implant.
Also on rt.com Denmark star Eriksen discharged from hospital after cardiac arrest – and has already been to see teammates at Euro 2020 camp
