Unpleasant scene that has been experienced at the RKC Waalwijk-Ajax. The match had to be suspended in the 89th minute with the score at 2-3 due to a tremendous blow that the local goalkeeper, Etienne Vaessen, received after a tackle by Ajax forward, Brian Brobbey.
He goalkeeper was left lying on the grass unconscious after receiving the blow in the 85th minute, and had to be revived on the grass with a defibrillator and taken off the field on a stretcher by the health services.
The blow to the head was tremendous. and left him completely inert on the grass. His colleagues immediately realized the seriousness of what had happened and quickly came to assist him.
The images of panic were tremendous, with the assistants quickly coming out to help him and some players putting their hands to their heads and others even crying, in an image that recalled, although the causes were different, what happened in Denmark’s first match with Eriksen in the World Cup in Russia . In fact, his teammates formed a circle around the goalkeeper while he was treated by the doctors.
The medical report says that he is conscious
The club published a first reassuring medical report at midnight. “We are very shocked by the incident on the field with our goalkeeper Etienne Vaessen. We can announce that, after a thorough medical examination, he is conscious and has been taken to hospital for further examination. We wish Etienne a lot of strength and fortitude and hope to have him back with us soon,” he says.
Suspended match
Once the goalkeeper was removed from the field of play and taken to a nearby hospital, it was decided to suspend the match since The emotional state of the RKC Waalwijk players did not allow them to continue playing. Initially, the stadium’s public address system reported that the match had been temporarily suspended and that it was being checked if the players could continue playing. Given their refusal, the match (2-3 for Ajax) was definitively suspended amidst loud applause and chants of “You’ll never walk alone” dedicated to Vaessen.