Four Liverpool players met in a Nations League clash on Saturday evening, but the game was overshadowed by a “scary” medical emergency on the Hungary bench.
The Netherlands and Hungary met in Amsterdam to pit Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo against Dominik Szoboszlai, but the game had to be stopped just seven minutes in.
Hungary’s assistant coach Adam Szalai required immediate medical attention on the touchline, leading to incredibly emotional scenes on the pitch and in the stands.
Players and staff shielded Szalai from the cameras as he was treated and was later stretched off and taken to hospital. The Hungarian FA’s statement later said he was “conscious” and “stable.”
The game had been paused for close to 10 minutes, and play restarted with a penalty to the Netherlands after handball that was all but forgotten due to the medical incident.
Wout Weghorst scored and overzealously celebrated considering what had just unfolded on the Hungarian bench, it was the first of four unanswered goals for the Netherlands.
That Szoboszlai’s side chose to play on, though, was not lost on Van Dijk as he paid “great respect” to Hungary’s players after the match.
“It was a scary scene, many people stood up, we also watched what was happening,” he said after the match. “There were scary moments, we saw someone shaking on the sideline.
“In such cases, we will obviously suspend the match. I have great respect for the Hungarian players for deciding to continue the match even after such a scene. They deserve a lot of respect.
“I also paid my respects to Dominik, it must have been very scary, but they still decided to continue the game. Hopefully (Szalai)’s condition will remain stable, this is the most important thing now and we wish him a speedy recovery.”
A clearly shaken Szoboszlai also spoke after the match on the decision to keep playing, telling M4 Sport: “I don’t wish this on anyone.
“The same thing happened to me in the case of Barnabas Varga, moreover, I just looked out onto the bench and watched the whole thing.
“We also did all this for Adam Szalai, in fact, mostly just for him. He has done so much, not only for the national team but also for the players, that he deserves to fight on the pitch.
“I can accept that what happened was in his head. We had a discussion, everyone said let’s continue for Adam, nothing else. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough now.”
The 4-0 defeat for Hungary means they will finish in third in the Nations League group, irrespective of their result against Germany on Tuesday.
