SC Idar-Oberstein
Amateur soccer coach saves players’ lives with a lug wrench
At SC Idar-Oberstein, the screw stud wrench was only by chance in the medicine case (symbol image)
© firo Sportphoto/Jørgen Fromme / Picture Alliance
After a collision, a footballer from the SC Idar-Oberstein league club had swallowed his tongue. His coach knew immediately what to do – and saved his player’s life.
It was a completely normal test match played by the football clubs Hassia Bingen and SC Idar-Oberstein. And it was a completely normal duel between two players from the amateur clubs in Rhineland-Palatinate, which almost came to a tragic end. After a collision in the air, Idar-Oberstein’s actor Luca Redschlag remained motionless on the lawn.
His coach Andy Baumgartner recognized the seriousness of the situation immediately – and saved his player’s life. The club’s coach didn’t even wait for the referee to interrupt the game, but immediately stormed onto the field and found that Redschlag had swallowed his tongue. The player threatened to suffocate. Baumgartner and the team’s physiotherapist reacted quickly and correctly: “We managed to get the tongue out with a screw wrench,” reported Baumgartner in an interview with “fussball.de”.
Footballer from Idar-Oberstein swallowed tongue – coach reacted with presence of mind
The trainer is a Bundeswehr soldier and was trained there in first aid. This knowledge now helped him save his player’s life on the field. He also benefited from an unusual tool: the S-shaped screw-on cleat wrench, which footballers normally use to tighten their cleats to their shoes. Baumgartner used this to pull his tongue out of his throat. The key just happened to be in the medicine case.
“When Luca went down, one of my players ran and spread the entire contents of the suitcase in front of me. Suddenly the key was there and it was the only thing that seemed suitable to achieve a levering movement. That’s why we used it,” Baumgartner describes the dramatic situation.
The scene is reminiscent of the collapse of Danish international Christian Eriksen at the 2021 European Football Championship. The player collapsed on the pitch after a sudden cardiac arrest and also swallowed his tongue. His captain and team-mate Simon Kjaer prevented Eriksen from choking and later received a Uefa award for it.
Poor medical care in amateur football
Association league coach Baumgartner showed the incident how bad the medical care in amateur football is. Injuries are always a topic in football coaching courses, and first-aid courses must also be proven. “But how many trainers are not licensed and do not have to show that? How many submit it once and then are trainers for 50 years?” Baumgartner asks. In the amateur sector, this is a “big risk”.
According to Baumgartner, the player concerned is “doing well given the circumstances” – he suffered a severe concussion. His opponent, with whom he collided, escaped with a laceration to the head.
Swell: “fussball.de” / SWR