Exasperated by the slowness of the rescue, Hungary’s captain, Dominik Szoboszlai, took matters into his own hands and dragged the medical staff to allow the stretcher to evacuate his teammate, hospitalized after a violent air shock, as quickly as possible.
With his teammate’s jersey on his shoulders, Dominik Szoboszlai lingered for a long time at the foot of the stands to celebrate Hungary’s victory (1-0), which gives the Magyars the right to dream of qualifying. But all the Hungarian captain’s thoughts were on Barnabas Varga, struck down by the elbow of Scottish goalkeeper Angus Gunn on a free kick from Szoboszlai in the 68th minute. Varga collapsed after the air strike.
Szoboszlai criticizes medical protocol that is too slow
Violently falling on the back of his neck, he was immediately placed in a side safety position while awaiting the arrival of emergency services, the team of which did not seem to be in a hurry to intervene. Which had the gift of annoying Dominik Szoboszlai. Noticing the slowness of the medical team that the players and the Hungarian coach were nevertheless urging to intervene, the Liverpool midfielder sprinted in their direction to grab the stretcher himself and hasten his arrival in the penalty area Scottish where his teammate was lying, surrounded by an opaque sheet. After a few seconds of hesitation, the player was finally evacuated to the loud applause of an anxious stadium.
“I don’t really know the protocol of the medical team or how it works but if our doctors say we need someone immediately to help us then I think they shouldn’t work,” said Szoboszlai. after the match, in the mixed zone. “It’s not my decision but I think something needs to change. If someone is down and you see it’s serious, go for it. Even if the referee tells you not to do it, go ahead and if you see that there is nothing serious, then you can go back, and it’s over. But the seconds can be a big help.
Hungary ended up snatching victory in added time thanks to Kevin Csoboth who was immediately handed Barnabas Varga’s jersey from his captain to celebrate his goal by brandishing the flocked tunic of No. 19. Barnabas Varga, who suffered a facial fracture, was conscious in the ambulance that transported him to the Stuttgart hospital where he was treated in stable condition. Thanks to these first three points obtained against Scotland, Hungary can hope to finish among the four best third-placed groups, but it will have to wait to find out whether or not it is qualified for the round of 16. But after having come close to a tragedy, the main thing is perhaps elsewhere.
