AAMI Park is under fire after Adelaide United star Juande was forced to wait for an ambulance after suffering a horrific broken leg on Sunday. Warning: Graphic images.
AAMI Park is under fire for not having an ambulance on standby following a horror injury to an A-league player.
According to witnesses it took 13 minutes for an ambulance to arrive at the stadium to assist Adelaide United star Juande after he sustained a serious leg injury in the 3-3 draw with Melbourne City.
The incident occurred in the 66th minute when Juande collided with City’s Florin Berenguer with his lower right leg seemingly snapped in half.
A disturbing crack was heard on impact as medics rushed to the player’s aid. Players held a sheet around their colleague as he received treatment.
The match was paused for nearly half an hour while he was treated on the pitch.
Onlookers have slammed the time it took for medical transport to arrive with others stunned that ambulances on site is not mandatory in sport particularly given the recent incident which saw Buffalo Bill star Damar Hamlin collapse on the field after suffering a cardiac arrest.
Ambulance Victoria have not stationed ambulances at A-leagues matches since November 2018.
“I was literally metres away from where it happened and I could hear the crack, it was an awful sound,” A-League sideline commentator Michael Zappone told Nine World of Sports.
“The players knew immediately what had happened. The Melbourne City players running over to the sideline to call for an ambulance.
“He will be taken straight to hospital. That sound is something you won’t forget.
“Everyone in shock here.”
A-Leagues Commissioner Greg O’Rourke confirmed that it was no longer a requirement to have an ambulance at A-League games.
“In November 2018, static ambulance services were withdrawn by Ambulance Victoria and instead Emergency Physicians were installed at the stadium,” he told the broadcast.
“Emergency Physicians are doctors who have specialised in Emergency Medicine as specialist medical practitioners they are able to provide a higher level of care than a paramedic.
“That change was approved by PFA in 2018 and has been policy in Victoria ever since. In every other state, it remains policy to have static ambulances.”
Players including Juande’s compatriot Javi Lopez were seen in tears after witnessing the incident.
“I don’t even want to look at that. That is horrible,” commentator Simon Hill said.
“I would be screaming the place down. Maybe he’s just in shock.
“They will put the towels around the Spaniard now, which I think is good, because we don’t really need to see that.
“How a football season can change in the blink of an eye.”
Originally published as A-League 2023: Juande’s horrific broken leg overshadows Adelaide United’s draw with Melbourne City
