Footballer collapses from heart attack during game in Norway

Stockholm (AFP) – Icelandic midfielder Emil Palsson collapsed during a football game in Norway’s second  division Monday evening after suffering a cardiac arrest, his football club Sogndal said.

The 28-year-old midfielder suddenly fell over in the 12 minute of the game against Stjordals-Blink at the Fosshaugane Campus stadium in western Norway.

“Emil Palsson had a cardiac arrest in the 12th minute of play. Palsson was successfully resuscitated, and then flown to Haukeland Hospital for further examination and treatment,” club Sogndal Fotball said in a statement.

The match was quickly suspended and players were sent to the dressing rooms as medical staff surrounded Palsson and started resuscitation efforts.

He was later carried off the field.

“Palsson is alive and is being examined by the best at Haukeland Hospital. There will probably not be any more information tonight. I expect we will find out more tomorrow morning,” Geir Inge Heggestad, event manager for Sogndal, told newspaper VG.

Palsson is playing in Sogndal on loan from Sarpsborg 08, which plays in Norway’s top league Eliteserien.

In June, a similar event occurred when Denmark’s Christian Eriksen suddenly collapsed from a cardiac arrest during his country’s opening Euro 2020 game against Finland.