The game between Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur came to a halt on Sunday evening after a fan in the stands of St. James’ Park became unwell. After 39 minutes of play, Heung-Min Son appeared to be about to take a corner, until the on-field referee Andre Marriner pointed out the incident in the stands. Partly because of this, someone rushed to the stands with an AED.
With a 1-2 score on the scoreboard, Son wanted to lay down for a corner just before half-time. Just before the South Korean attacker landed, he held back because the players in the penalty area saw what was going on in the stands. There was also unrest among the public in the stands. Sergio Reguilon told referee Marriner what was going on, after which Eric Dier rushed to the side to ostensibly signal that CPR was required. Someone jumped into action with an AED and play at St. James’ Park came to a halt.
Analyst Youri Mulder van Ziggo Sports finds it logical that the game was temporarily halted. “Yes, of course this has to be well organised. If you then continue playing football, I don’t think it is beneficial for the situation,” he says in the studio. In the second minute of stoppage time, referee Marriner motioned for the players to leave the field again. Seven minutes of stoppage time had been announced, but they were cut short after the referee asked how the supporter was doing. “Of course you don’t want too much noise. And maybe an ambulance also has to cross the field, you don’t know that,” said Mulder.
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