THE HAGUE, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Dutch football club Ajax has recognized its liability for the health of former player Abdelhak Nouri, who suffered severe brain damage following heart failure last year, general manager Edwin van der Sar announced on Monday at a press conference in Amsterdam.
"We have recently come to appreciate new insight that the treatment was not adequate," Van der Sar stated. "Our deepest apologies go out to the family that it took so long until it became clear what exactly happened."
Former Ajax midfielder Nouri suffered heart failure in July 2017 during a friendly match against Werder Bremen in Austria and had to be resuscitated on the pitch.
The 21-year-old suffered serious and permanent brain damage and according to his doctors will never be able to function normally again. He remains in a low state of consciousness.
The Nouri family concluded, after having heard medical experts, that the medical care provided by Ajax's medical staff after Nouri's collapse was insufficient and went to the arbitration committee of the Dutch football association last month to demand a verdict. The family wanted Ajax to recognize its liability and responsibility, and the Amsterdam club has now done so.
Van der Sar stated at the press conference that Ajax based its initial analysis of Nouri's on-field treatment on its own information and a second opinion from an external medical advisor. This analysis showed, according to Ajax, that no mistakes were made.
After the Nouri family went to the arbitration committee, Ajax sought a third opinion by other renowned cardiologists, who concluded that Nouri's treatment had been inadequate.
According to the cardiologists, the treatment had been too focused on the release of the airway at the expense of measuring the heart rate. In addition, the defibrillator should have been used earlier.
"For a long time, as club management, as well as our medical staff, we were convinced that Abdelhak was given the best possible care on the field, and now that this appears not to have been the case, that is a massive blow," an emotional Van der Sar said.
It is not yet known what the consequences of this recognition will be and whether the arbitration case between Ajax and the Nouri family will continue, now that the club has recognized its liability. "We want to solve this in a good way and we are focused on that," Van der Sar said.
In a statement through their lawyer, the Nouri family said that the information based on the third opinion was not new and that Ajax should have known from the beginning that the treatment was inadequate.
