Wolves hold CPR training session at players’ request

David Ginola suggested on Sunday that everybody should have basic skills

Pa Sport Staff
Wednesday 20 October 2021 18:29 BST
David Ginola suffered a cardiac arrest during a charity match in France in 2016 (David Davies/PA)
David Ginola suffered a cardiac arrest during a charity match in France in 2016 (David Davies/PA) (PA Archive)

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Wolves players have acted on the plea of David Ginola by undergoing basic CPR training.

Ginola had urged everybody to get training on Sunday after a fan collapsed in Newcastle’s Premier League match against Tottenham.

The game as St James’ Park was suspended for 20 minutes towards the end of the first half as the spectator received medical attention. It was later confirmed by Newcastle that the person was stabilised and sent to hospital.

Ginola, who played 58 times for the Magpies, suffered a cardiac arrest during a charity match in France in 2016. The 54-year-old collapsed and fell into a coma. He was administered CPR on the pitch by fellow footballer Frederic Mendy which Ginola insists “saved my life”.

On Wednesday, Wolves players learnt the basic skills at their Compton training ground.

A tweet which showed the players administering chest compressions on a dummy read: “At the request of our players, we held a basic life support training session at Compton this afternoon.

“You never know when these skills might be needed. Be prepared.”

Ginola was a pundit for Sunday’s clash and during the stoppage in play he said on Sky Sports: “Having people being able to perform CPR helps massively. At the end of the day we should all be able to perform CPR to help each other.

“This is what saved my life. The surgeon who operated said to me: ‘I did my job but I didn’t save your life, the one who saved your life is the one next to you on the football pitch’.

“Frederic Mendy and those guys had been told how to perform CPR and they did it for 12 minutes. I was dead for 12 minutes.

“It is very important because otherwise the brain is damaged, even if your heart is saved.”

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