Wiltshire-based referee Adam Nunn is throwing his support behind a free CPR training scheme after seeing first-hand how crucial the life-saving knowledge is at the Euro 2020 tournament.

South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust and Wiltshire FA will give the county’s footballing community free CPR sessions.

Adam was assistant referee during the Denmark v Finland match in the EURO 2020 tournament, when Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch after suffering a cardiac arrest. He is encouraging as many people as possible to sign up for the life-saving training on October 13.

The ‘Restart a Heart’ sessions will run throughout the day at Green Lane Playing Fields in Devizes on October 13 and the aim is to train as many people as possible what to do if a similar situation to the one involving Christian Eriksen occurs.

Oliver Selfe, CEO at Wiltshire FA said: "CPR training can potentially help to save a life. We are pleased to be working with South Western Ambulance Service to offer our football family the opportunity to attend ‘Restart A Heart’ training, equipping them with the skills to administer CPR if the unthinkable happened.”

The aim is for people involved in football at a grassroots level to be trained to deal with emergency situations as amateur football is often lacking in the equipment and trained first-aiders that professional football has, as Adam explains. 

“The Denmark match was a prime example of why we should all have lifesaving CPR training, and the need for defibrillators to be in as many locations as possible,” said the referee. 

“In the professional game there is equipment and medically trained people on hand to help, but at grassroots level this is not guaranteed. This is a good opportunity for the grassroots community to gain knowledge, practical skills and confidence for an emergency situation.

“You never know when you might need the training, if the training is never used then great, but if it is used it could save a life.

"This is a brilliant initiative, which I fully support. You can never fully prepare for an emergency, but this training will give people knowledge to assuredly act if they need to.

“I have seen first-hand, if a crisis is dealt with calmly and promptly the outcome can be good, thankfully Christian is well and on the road to recovery.”