Copenhagen heroes to receive UEFA President’s Award
Tuesday 24 August 2021
The medical team that saved the life of Denmark player Christian Eriksen at UEFA EURO 2020, and Danish national team captain Simon Kjær, are the recipients of the 2021 UEFA President’s Award.
The accolade is a mark of homage for their vital contributions in coming to Eriksen’s aid when the 29-year-old Inter Milan midfielder suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed on the field during Denmark’s UEFA EURO 2020 group stage match against Finland at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen on 12 June.
Thanks to the medical team’s rapid response and expert emergency treatment, Eriksen was resuscitated on the pitch, and is now happily on the road to recovery. Simon Kjær shares the honour for his reaction in immediately helping Eriksen, as well as for the exceptional leadership qualities he displayed.
'True heroes'
UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin described the recipients of the award – which recognises outstanding achievements, professional excellence and exemplary personal qualities – as "the true heroes of EURO 2020. It is indeed a great honour for me to present them with the UEFA President's Award.
"This year, the President’s Award transcends football," he said. "It serves as an important and eternal reminder of just how precious life is and puts everything in our lives into the clearest perspective," he added.
"I would also like to send my very best wishes to Christian Eriksen and his family as he continues his recovery."
Recipients of the 2021 UEFA President’s Award:
On-site medical team Mogens Kreutzfeldt (chief medical officer) Frederik Flensted (stadium medical manager) Anders Boesen (pitchside emergency doctor) Peder Ersgaard (paramedic)
UEFA Venue Medical Officers Jens Kleinefeld Valentin Velikov
Danish national medical team Morten Skjoldager (physio accompanying the team doctor) Morten Boesen (team doctor) Simon Kjær (Denmark national team captain)
A message from Christian Eriksen
"I would like to thank Morten [Skjoldager], Morten [Boesen] and the medical team who helped in Parken on 12 June. You did a fantastic job and saved my life.
"Also a big thanks to my friend and captain Simon and my teammates in the Danish team for your support, both on 12 June and afterwards.
"Thanks to all the fans who have sent messages to me and my family. It means a lot and has given us strength and support. Thank you."
Fitting tribute This year’s UEFA President's Award serves as a fitting tribute to the medical staff who were on site at the EURO match in Copenhagen, both for their expertise and their application of the specialist training that had prepared them for such an incident.
The medical team responded swiftly, and Eriksen was resuscitated through the deployment of the Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) technique and a defibrillator before he was stretchered off and taken to hospital.
"We rushed to the field to help [Christian] and to do our job," said Mogens Kreutzfeldt, chief medical officer for UEFA EURO 2020 in Copenhagen. "We did what we should, what we were taught, what we were trained to do."
"Everybody knew their role, everybody knew what to do. We were not emotional at the scene. Afterwards, we were, of course, like everybody. We’re very happy and proud of the outcome."
‘Utmost admiration’ "When Christian Eriksen collapsed on the field in Copenhagen," said Aleksander Čeferin. "I, along with millions of other football fans, was deeply shocked and concerned. To everyone’s great joy and relief, Christian’s life was eventually saved thanks to the remarkable professionalism of the medical team."
"I have the utmost admiration for the doctors and medical staff for their outstanding reaction and calmness," Mr Čeferin added. "Attributes which were crucial in Christian’s resuscitation."
Captain’s response
The award also recognises Simon Kjær’s admirable response to the situation. The 32-year-old AC Milan defender was one of the first people to reach Eriksen when he collapsed.
He put Eriksen in the recovery position, started the initial CPR procedure, led the Danish players in forming a protective ring around their teammate while he was being given urgent medical attention, and comforted Eriksen's partner.
"I remain grateful for the exemplary leadership qualities and immense courage that Denmark’s captain, Simon Kjær, displayed in this most critical of situations," said Aleksander Čeferin.
Reacting as a team
Kjær emphasised the Danish team’s unity and solidarity in responding to the situation.
"It's something that will stay with us for the rest of our lives," he said. "The team reacted as a unit…as a team, we made the maximum effort to stick together and try to get through that situation and be as helpful as possible."
"I try to lead the team on and off the pitch, in every aspect of life, as footballers, when we’re together," he added. "I think it's one of the biggest privileges I have in my career."
"I’ve known Christian [Eriksen] for many years," Kjær added. "[He] has a great family, he has a lot of friends, a lot of teammates that want the best for him. As long as he’s happy and his family is good, I’m happy."
The UEFA Awards Ceremony will hold in Istanbul, Turkey today alongside the UEFA Champions League draws. The men and women's player of the year, the men and women's coach of the year and several positional awards will be presented at the ceremony. The UEFA President's Award will also be presented. Below are the nominees for each award category.
Foreign countries should stop encouraging Afghans to leave as the country needs their talents, a Taliban spokesman has said.
Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghan nationals should head back to their homes, jobs and normal life, as there was “no danger” to them, adding: “Let’s live together."
He told a press conference that “war for us has finished", and it did not want any war or fighting.
Mr Mujahid also said Afghans were not allowed to go to Kabul airport, but foreigners could go there.
by Ozolua Uhakheme, Assistant Editor Arts August 23, 2021
One of Nigeria’s most influential modern artists and art teachers, Prof Yusuf Grillo is dead.
A statement by Otunba Babatunde Grillo announced the passing of the patriarch.
He said he died in the early hours of Monday, August 23 at 87.
According to the statement, the first President Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA) died at the Gbagada General Hospital in Lagos state after a ‘brief illness’.
He was buried at the Atan Cemetry, Yaba on Monday according to Islamic rites.
Grillo, who was a prominent art teacher at the School of Art, Design and Printing, Yaba College of Technology, Lagos before his retirement trained at the Nigerian College of Arts and Science Zaria (now Ahmadu Bello University), and was a member of the Zaria School, a society founded in 1958.
Born in 1934 in the Brazilian Quarter of Lagos, Yusuf Grillo went on to become one of the most influential figures in Nigerian art.
After studying extensively in Nigeria and the United Kingdom, Grillo became the Head of Art and Printing at Yaba College of Technology, a post he retained for over twenty-five years.
During this period he has received a number of public commissions; his mosaics and stained glass can be seen in churches, universities, government buildings across Lagos, and most recently at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos.
Prof. Grillo is one of the most famous stained glass designers in Nigeria with his work adorning some of the biggest church buildings in the country.
Donald Trump was booed at a rally in Alabama after he told his supporters to get vaccinated. Mr Trump said that he had been vaccinated and he urged his supporters to also get vaccinated.
One of his supporters was interviewed and she said that she didn't believe that Mr Trump had been vaccinated and she also said that God was using the vaccine issue to separate the goats from the sheep.
Trump supporter: I think it is time when God is separating the sheep from the goats.
Reporter: What are you?
Trump supporter: I am a. . .goat, cos I ain't a sheep. I'm not doing what they are telling me to do. I'm fighting against it.
See the 2:48 minute for Trump's message to his supporters that they should get the vaccine and 3:52 for the woman's statement that she is a goat.
COVID-19: WE’VE RECORDED 135 DEATHS IN THIRD WAVE, AS PANDEMIC CASES RISE IN LAGOS – SANWO-OLU
•‘Distribution of Moderna Vaccine Starts Wednesday’ - Governor
Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu has confirmed the record of 135 fatalities in the current third wave of the pandemic, highlighting the havoc being wreaked by deadly strains of the virus spreading in the country.
The Governor during a briefing on Monday at the State house, Ikeja revealed that the State has taken the delivery of Moderna vaccine from the Federal Government.
Sanwo-Olu disclosed the State received a little above 300,000 doses of Moderna vaccine to boost the State drive towards achieving herd immunity.
The test positivity rate, the Governor added, has also increased to 12.1 per cent in the past weeks, compared to seven per cent recorded at the end of July, 2021. This, he said, resulted from non-adherence to the laid-down health protocols designed to stop the spread of the pandemic.
Sanwo-Olu said the situation called for more responsibility, urging the residents to adhere to the preventive protocols put in place by the Government.
He said: “We are now clearly in the middle of third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and Lagos has remained the epicenter of the disease in Nigeria. Test positivity rate currently stands at 12.1 per cent, compared to 1.1 per cent at the end of June, and seven per cent at end of July. As at August 21, 4,387 positive cases are currently being managed actively in-community.
“Over the course of managing the COVID-19 pandemic, about 5,551 patients have been admitted into our various COVID-19 care centres in Lagos, with 506 registered fatalities. Of these deaths, 135 have sadly, happened in this current third wave. I commiserate with all residents who have lost loved ones to the pandemic. We share in your pain and grief. As a society and as a Government, it is for us to redouble our efforts to defeat this devastating pandemic.”
The increment in positive cases, Sanwo-Olu said, has also shot up oxygen demand at the Government-controlled isolation centres, with the State supplying 400 cylinders daily to patients with severe cases.
At the beginning of the third wave, it was learnt that 75 cylinders were consumed per day at the isolation centres. Sanwo-Olu said the State would be ramping up its oxygen plants in the coming days, as he projected that the demand for oxygen may shoot up in the next few weeks.
From next Wednesday, the Governor said Lagos would start the distribution of the first dose of Moderna vaccine across 150 centres set up in the State for the exercise. Increasing vaccination, the Governor said, will stem cases of fatalities, urging residents to get the vaccine.
He said: “In terms of treatment of severe cases, we have seen a gradual increase in the uptake of oxygen during the current wave. Utilization has increased from 75 cylinders per day at the beginning of this third wave, to over 400 cylinders per day, currently. With our modelling suggesting that we may be requiring even more oxygen supply over the next few weeks, we are exploring several ways of increasing our oxygen capacity.
“One of the major pillars of our mitigation strategy for the third wave is vaccination. We are seeing that countries that have vaccinated a large percentage of their population are recording drastic reductions in the numbers of COVID-19 related deaths. This is one of the reasons why we have not spared any cost to ensure that the vaccines that have been provided by the Federal Government are made available to every resident that meets the requirements for the vaccination programme.”
As part of the strategy to stem the cases, Sanwo-Olu said the State Government identified 5,998 Persons of Interest and had successfully isolated 4,500 of them, most of whom arrived from red-listed countries.
CAPTIONS:
PIX 1 & 2: Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, flanked by his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat (left) and Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi (right) during a media briefing on COVID-19 Delta Variant at Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja, on Monday, August 23, 2021.
PIX 3: Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu addressing the Press on COVID-19 Delta Variant, at Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja, on Monday, August 23, 2021.
PIX 4: Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu addressing the Press on COVID-19 Delta Variant, at Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja, on Monday, August 23, 2021. With him from left: Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Folashade Jaji, Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat and Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi.
European Football (EPL, UEFA, La Liga) › Re: UEFA Awards Ceremony Holds Today. See Full List Of Nominees Here by naptu2(op): 12:09am On Aug 26, 2021*. Modified: 1:01am On Aug 26, 2021
