First off, my thoughts are with the family and friends of Derek Reynolds, the O’s supporter who collapsed at Tuesday night’s game at Brisbane Road, and my deepest condolences for what has now sadly been confirmed as his death.
The scenes at the match were surreal and distressing. There was chaos and confusion over the EFL protocols that — rightly or wrongly — were initially followed, supporters invading the pitch in an effort to halt play, and a lengthy delay before the match was eventually abandoned, while the spectator was still receiving medical treatment.
For those who weren’t in attendance, let’s recap the sequence of events, as best as I can remember from my vantage point in the North Stand.
Leyton Orient were leading Lincoln City, 1-0, when around the 80th minute, there is commotion in the East Stand. Stewards come over to address the issue, while fans in the stand begin shouting at the referees and players to get their attention. O’s winger Theo Archibald appears to grasp the situation and waves his hands in the air, asking for play to be stopped.
Referee Stephen Martin, however, instructs the players to continue and signals for O’s goalkeeper Sol Brynn to take his goal kick. The crowd becomes more agitated as play goes on for about a minute, and medical personnel are rushing over to the East Stand.
A fan comes out of the East Stand to appeal to the assistant referee on the touchline, indicating that CPR is being performed on the spectator. Stewards intercept the fan and are pushing him off the pitch, when a second supporter runs onto the field to plead with referee Martin. As that supporter is being ushered away, about 15 or so fans in the North Stand begin climbing over the advertising hoardings and sitting on the pitch.
This prompts O’s manager Richie Wellens to come down to where the pitch invaders are sat and shout at them to get back in their seats, which they do after a bit of back and forth.
At this point, apparently Imps goalkeeper Lukas Jenkins refuses to take his goal kick, which eventually convinces Martin to allow the players to return to their benches after consulting with both teams.
After a spell — all while the game clock is continuing to run — medical staff prepare to move the spectator from the stand onto a gurney and then onto a stretcher to be taken to the ambulance. The game clock reaches 90 minutes, and it is indicated that 10 minutes of stoppage time will be added.
The spectator is moved to pitch side, the referee brings the players back onto the pitch, and Lincoln City make two substitutions. But it soon becomes clear that the supporter is requiring more treatment, as medical staff surround him on the side of the pitch.
The referee appears ready to restart play — much to the consternation of the crowd — but is holding on to the ball. He eventually recognises that the spectator is not being moved, and both teams are told to go back into their dressing rooms. An announcement comes over the PA system that a medical emergency is being attended to and that an update would be provided in due course.
Treatment continues on the spectator for about 40 minutes, when finally at around 10:25 pm, the match is formally abandoned.
Rules and procedures
Ok, so that’s what happened in the stadium. But is that what should have happened?
A medical emergency in the crowd at a football match is an upsetting situation for everybody involved, and clearly there is a divide between the EFL protocol and public opinion on this incident.
Here’s what the EFL’s rules say about matchday medical procedures:
Supporters are asked not to alert players or staff on the pitch as in most cases the crowd medical team will be able to provide medical care as the match continues.
Should a situation arise where there is a need for the match to be halted, a decision will be taken between the crowd medical team, the ground safety team and the match officials with the information relayed to the supporters at the ground.
This is in line with the briefing note produced by National Events Medicine Advisory Group (NEMAG) in conjunction with the Sports Grounds Safety Authority’s (SGSA) and football authorities.
https://www.efl.com/governance/crowd-medical-emergencies/
I want to give the referees, stewards and Richie Wellens the benefit of the doubt here. Protocols are in place for a reason, and in a fast-moving situation, it’s not always immediately clear what is happening.
Edit: Richie Wellens has since given an interview to The Athletic in which he told the supporters to get off the pitch because the fourth official was concerned about a potential safety issue and that he was shocked the referees then tried to restart play:
“A fan then ran on the pitch, the game then briefly restarted, then supporters started running on the pitch and sat down at the far end. That takes the attention away from what is the most important thing — trying to get help. When our supporters came on the pitch, the fourth official was worried about a safety issue. I said, ‘Leave that to me, I’ll get them off the pitch. Concentrate on the referee and trying to get help to our supporter’. I went over to our supporters, they were very good and got off the pitch but then, unbelievably, they tried to restart the game.”
https://theathletic.com/4929339/2023/10/04/a-horrific-night-leyton-orient-fan-dies-despite-supporters-trying-to-stop-match-to-help-him/
The intent of the EFL rule, I believe, is that halting the game has the possibility to cause further confusion within the stadium and potentially impede medical assistance reaching the affected spectators. As all stadiums are required to have qualified medical personnel and equipment on hand specifically for crowd safety that are separate to the team doctors and physios, the implication is that an off-pitch incident can be handled adequately without creating more of a scene.
Football, like all sport, can get very heated on the pitch and off, and referees are constantly being yelled at by players, coaches and fans over every decision or non-decision they make. The protocol is designed to take what might be a difficult judgement call out of the referees’ and players’ hands, and in this instance, I do not think you can fault some humans for defaulting to instructions they have been given by the EFL as events were unfolding. Martin is an experienced referee, overseeing most of his games in the Championship, so I have no reason to believe that he doesn’t understand what the EFL regulations state.
HOWEVER, one-size-fits-all rules are not always fit for purpose, and I think some re-examining of the protocol is in order.
Change the rule
Leyton Orient know all too well the sudden consequences of cardiac arrest, with the tragic loss of our former manager Justin Edinburgh, whose legacy looms large not only with the National League title and the west stand at Brisbane Road that is named after him, but with the work of the charity set up after his death — The Justin Edinburgh Foundation, which campaigns for a law to mandate defibrillators at every UK health and sport facility.
October just happens to be Cardiac Arrest Month, highlighting the importance of knowing CPR, as you never know when it might come in useful.
In the incident Tuesday night, medical help did arrive quickly for the spectator, according to the London Ambulance Service’s statement to The Independent:
“We sent a number of resources to the scene, including an incident response officer, two medics in fast-response cars and an ambulance crew. Our first medic arrived in approximately four minutes. We treated a man at the scene, but very sadly, despite our teams’ best efforts, he was later pronounced dead.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/leyton-orient-fan-heart-attack-dead-b2423692.html
Brisbane Road is not a big stadium, and anybody near the part of the grounds where the situation was unfolding could see that this was serious. It would be extremely difficult for fans and players not to be affected by it.
Perhaps the EFL protocol makes sense for huge stadiums of 50,000 to 60,000 people, where maybe 80-90% of the crowd might be unaware of a medical emergency taking place. Keep the game going, don’t add distractions that can prevent the medical personnel from doing their jobs, and allow the affected person some level of privacy.
But for smaller stadiums, humanity and practicality ought to be taken into consideration. Players, as focused as they usually are on a game, surely don’t want to be kicking a ball around while they can see (and hear) someone receiving CPR in the stand. Spectators certainly aren’t in a frame of mind to enjoy sport in that situation. Medical personnel could do without the possibility of a ball or player careening into them.
We don’t know what was communicated to the referees, players and staff during that stressful time. Again, giving people the benefit of the doubt here, the situation was likely confusing to everyone.
Maybe this is one area the protocol could be strengthened. Perhaps someone can be designated — a medical official, crowd support officer, head of stewarding, etc. — with proper training, who can authoritatively call for a game to be halted, overruling the referee, if needed.
The referee has a lot going on, and his priority is the safety of the players and the integrity of the match. Matters off the pitch, like a medical emergency, aren’t necessarily top of mind, and asking a referee to switch from pressure-cooker game mode to stadium health-and-safety minder might be asking for too much.
Give that job to someone else who is in a better position to see the bigger picture and can more quickly get a read on the situation, taking into account medical needs first, but also the mood of the crowd and other contributing factors.
Rules for abandonment
As for the match itself, which is the least important part in all of this, it was officially abandoned at the 84th minute, with an EFL statement saying “a determination will now be made by the EFL as to whether the fixture will be rescheduled, or if the result at the time of the abandonment will stand. A decision will be taken only after consultation with both clubs.”
With the O’s up 1-0, thanks to Joe Pigott’s 10th minute goal, and Lincoln City putting pressure on the Orient goal for much of the second half, the Imps probably want the entire match to be replayed.
Restarting the game in the 84th minute, even with the 10 minutes of stoppage time added, doesn’t seem quite practical.
My solution would be to schedule a replay of the game for the Tuesday after the final regularly scheduled match of the season and only play it if the result would have a bearing on promotion or relegation. Otherwise, the 1-0 score would stand.
But that’s for figuring out later.
I am saddened for the fallen supporter and his family, and I hope that some change in the procedures, or at least some more thought behind implementing protocols, will result.
Leyton Laureate, a LOFC blog 