Mick McDermott has welcomed the Northern Ireland Football League’s decision to provide Irish League clubs with defibrillators after Christian Eriksen’s near death experience at Euro 2020.
The Glentoran boss also says working alongside former Cameroon manager Winfried Schafer hammered home the need for life-saving equipment in a football environment.
German-born Schafer was in charge of the Indomitable Lions when former Manchester City midfielder Marc Vivien Foe collapsed with an undetected heart condition in 2003.
The 28-year-old Cameroon international, who also played for West Ham United, fell during a Confederations Cup game in Lyon and later died in the stadium medical room.
“I’ve actually worked with two coaches who lost players in games,” said McDermott, who worked alongside Schafer during their time together in Iran.
“One was the manager of Cameroon when Marc Vivien Foe, the former Manchester City player, collapsed in the centre circle.
“The other coach I worked with was at Benfica when a Hungarian striker (Miklos Feher) dropped onto his knees and died during a game.
“So I have been around coaches who have witnessed and experienced that and they wouldn’t talk about it really because it really affected them.”
McDermott says it is a “welcome move” that 41 clubs in the Premiership, Championship, PIL and Women’s Premiership have been provided with new defibrillators ahead of next season.
The decision was made after a risk assessment by the NIFL Board outlined a desire to protect clubs following the “distressing events at Euro 2020 in Denmark”.
Denmark midfielder Eriksen collapsed and suffered a cardiac arrest shortly during a 1-0 defeat to Finland in Denmark’s opening group game in Copenhagen.
But emergency medical treatment on the pitch, including CPR with a defibrillator, prior to being taken to hospital, helped ensure the 29-year-old recovered.
“Defibrillators are common and necessary in football now,” said McDermott.
“We have had defibrillators at Glentoran for a number of years - one hangs in the tunnel, one in the hallway and our physio also carries one with him at all times during training.
“But the fact the Northern Ireland Football League has provided us with a new one is to be welcomed because it gives us the option to use a defibrillator elsewhere.
“For example, it gives us the option to give one to the reserve team or give one to the academy, so it’s a really positive development.”
