EPL stars lauded after helping save fan's life

Two football stars have been praise for their pro-active thinking after a medical emergency in the stands caused an English Premier League clash to be briefly halted.

The incident occurred in the first half of Tottenham's clash with Newcastle United when Spurs duo Eric Dier and Sergio Reguilon ensured that the fan could be attended to.

Dier ensured that a defibrillator was taken into the stands to help the fan, who was eventually hospitalsed, while Reguilon alerted referee Andre Mariner so the game could be stopped.

The match at Newcastle's St James' Park was halted for 20 minutes, with the players initially waiting on the pitch before heading back down the tunnel into their respective dressing rooms.

The supporter continued to receive treatment in the stands before being wheeled away by the side of the field to applause in the stadium.

“There is a medical emergency in the East Stand,” the stadium announcer said before later telling the crowd the players would be returning.

“Our thoughts are with the person receiving emergency medical treatment,” the announcer said.

Newcastle later announced in a statement that the fan "who was in need of urgent medical assistance [had] been stabilised" after being rushed to hospital.

"I saw the fan lying down, and one man [giving him CPR], I was very nervous," Reguilon told Sky Sports after his side's 3-2 win.

"I went to the referee and said we cannot play, stop the match. The fans say: 'Stop, stop!'"

"First and foremost we want to say best wishes to the guy in the stands," Spurs star Harry Kane added.

"It wasn't a good sight to see, and we hear he might be stable now, so we're thankful to the medical team and the fans. Hopefully he is OK, and we wish him all the best from Spurs and the players."

Reguilon and Dier were named joint players of the match for their heroic efforts in attending to the fan.

The incident hit close to home for former Newcastle United midfielder David Ginola, who suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch during a charity match in 2016.

"This is what saved my life - those were the words of the surgeons that operated on me," Ginola said on Sky Sports.

"The one who saved my life were the ones on the football pitch who knew how to perform CPR. They did it for 12 minutes and I was dead for 12 minutes. It is so important as otherwise the brain will be damaged.

"Sometimes [when doing CPR] people don't want to hurt you too much but you need to go deep and break ribs. When you learn how to do it, you are going very strong on the body. This is the key. It's vital."

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from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/football/newcastlespurs-match-halted-while-fan-received-treatment/de9ec83f-ab78-49b3-9f53-865197711956