Two ambulances will be kept on stand-by in strategic locations across Malta during lower league football matches in case of an emergency, Malta Football Association head Bjorn Vassallo confirmed.
This was announced after Santa Venera Lightnings Captain Yau-Mun Law collapsed during a match against Kirkop United at the Centenary Stadium on Thursday, following cardiac arrest. He is now in a stable condition.
Several people present during the match reported that it took the ambulance 30 minutes to arrive from Mater Dei Hospital to the stadium. Questions sent to the Health Ministry on Friday morning remained unanswered at the time of writing.
There was no ambulance stationed at the stadium since the game was a third division match. Ambulances are only based at stadiums during Premier League matches.
Mr Law, a 36-year-old father of two, received immediate treatment from the Malta FA paramedic on duty at the Centenary Stadium who used a defibrillator to treat him. Photographer and football fan Walter Sargent helped the paramedic administer CPR.
Long overdue ambulance presence
Commenting on Facebook following the collapse of Mr Law, his teammate Shamison Farrugia wrote: “There should be a stand-by ambulance as there is in the Premier division. We are not different. We play the same game and follow the same rules.”
Following the incident, the Malta Sports Journalists Association appealed to the football authorities to ensure the presence of at least one ambulance and a doctor for football matches.
MFA pledges ambulances on stand-by
But having an ambulance present at each match is not feasible since, on a given day, there could be matches taking place in multiple stadiums. Mr Vassallo confirmed with Times of Malta that the MFA would be stationing two ambulances in strategic locations across the island to ensure they get there faster in cases of an emergency.
This was welcomed by the Malta Football Players Association (MFPA) who has been calling for more ambulance presence during matches.
Three years ago MFPA made the appeal when defender Yessous Camilleri, who at the time was on the books of Marsa, suffered a serious injury and no ambulance was at the venue to provide assistance.
MFPA secretary Carlo Mamo said that while the association understood that it was not possible to have an ambulance based at every football match, having ambulances stationed closer to stadiums was a possible solution.
Mr Mamo said that over the years the MFA had installed fully equipped emergency rooms, manned by a paramedic during matches, in all grounds used for competitive football.
The problem was that the clubs - there are 54 clubs in Malta - are not equipped for medical emergencies.
The MFPA suggested making it mandatory for clubs to ensure that members undergo first aid training and that a trained first aider is always present during training.
'I could see he needed help'
Photographer Walter Sargent was taking pictures of the Santa Venera-Kirkop match when Mr Law collapsed and, as he noticed that the paramedic needed support, he put his camera aside and ran to the rescue.
When you see someone isn’t breathing and you know that their life depends on your actions, it really makes you think.
“I was there, near the corner flag taking photos, there was a free kick and the players were lined up and then I saw that one had collapsed. I knew something was wrong but I couldn’t go on the pitch. When he was taken off the pitch, I was keeping a close eye on the nurse who was with me. But I could see he needed help. I left my camera and equipment on the sideline and went to help. I worked on his chest and the nurse worked on giving him mouth-to-mouth,” says Mr Sargent who is a part-time photographer and football fan.
As a former police officer, he adds, he was trained to help people and offer first aid. “I’ve seen a lot of things, but this has really affected me. When you see someone isn’t breathing and you know that their life depends on your actions, it really makes you think... I wasn’t alone in trying to help him, others were trying to save him too. I can’t say how long it took for the ambulance to arrive, but I can say it was quite a while. But when you are in that situation, every second can seem like an hour,” he says.