A catastrophic failure of an elevated camera catwalk at Västra Arenor sent a 58‑year‑old operator into a maintenance shaft and left fans screaming on Wednesday 23 September as flood sprinklers began to fill the cavity beneath the pitch. The operator, Cynthia M. Schimmel, was pulled from the shaft by Göta IF forward Jack Tremblay and match medic Anne Lambert before emergency crews arrived; she is in stable condition in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the club said.
The stadium operator, Västra Arenor AB, declined to hand over the full CCTV feed to police for 90 minutes after the incident, citing the recently enacted Match Footage Evidence Act that governs release of spectator imagery. That delay is the focus of a criminal preliminary probe opened by Gothenburg prosecutors, who say it complicated the reconstruction of events and hampered early questioning of staff. - Date: 23 September 2026, 18:12 local time - Attendance: 21,434 - CCTV withheld to police: 90 minutes - Rescuers: Jack Tremblay (player), Anne Lambert (match medic), Skirmantė Patricijus (groundskeeper)
How the rescue unfolded
The catwalk — a 7‑metre steel platform used for broadcast cameras above the north stand — fractured as Göta IF and Nordby FC warmed up, according to witnesses. Schimmel fell through a cracked section into a 2.5‑metre service shaft, where an automatic sprinkler triggered and began filling the void with water within minutes, fans and officials said.
If the water had reached the top, we would not have had time to think. We just acted.
Jack Tremblay, Göta IF forward
Tremblay, 28, who was changing boots at the touchline, ran to the hole and with Lambert and groundskeeper Skirmantė Patricijus tore up the metal grate and lowered themselves to haul Schimmel free, according to their accounts and multiple fan videos. "Her head was hitting the metal but she kept breathing," Lambert said. "We wedged a boot under the edge and lifted. I was shouting for medics and they were five minutes away."
Schimmel, speaking from a hospital bed on Thursday, told reporters she remembers a loud snap and then being in cold water. "I heard a man shouting my name and felt hands on my shoulders. I kept thinking about the camera — we work for the match, but tonight someone else got the headlines by saving me," she said. Skirmantė Patricijus, who helped cut the grate, said he had flagged a loose bolt on the catwalk last month to stadium staff.
Why footage release matters
Detective Inspector Matias Correia‑Carneiro of Gothenburg police said the club's refusal to hand over unedited CCTV immediately meant officers could not establish a minute‑by‑minute timeline that would show whether maintenance teams had been warned before kick‑off. "We can work from phone clips and witness statements, but the full feeds are crucial for tying times to movements," Correia‑Carneiro said. He added investigators were assessing whether any earlier reports of structural wear were acted on.
Þjóðann Snærs, Västra Arenor's head of stadium operations and one of the staff named in witness accounts, denied failing to act on prior maintenance flags. "I instructed a team to inspect the catwalk two days ago and ordered the bolt replaced where needed. We are going through the logs now," he told reporters. Adam Ł. Sawicka, Västra Arenor's chief executive, apologised for the incident but defended the decision to delay handing over footage, saying the Match Footage Evidence Act requires a formal request to protect bystanders' privacy.
David Palan, spokesperson for the Swedish Football Federation, said the league would press for a swift technical inspection and consider sanctions. "Fans and players had their safety compromised; we will not let that pass without answers," Palan said. The federation has ordered an independent safety audit of all Allsvenskan arenas to begin on 25 September.
What happens next
Gothenburg prosecutors said a preliminary negligence investigation was under way and that charging decisions would follow the evidence review. The club has cancelled its next two home dates while engineers conduct structural tests; the cancelled fixtures affect season standings and could cost the club an estimated SEK 4.2 million (about €370,000/$405,000) in lost match‑day revenue and fines, analysts said. Fans at the game demanded clearer rules governing immediate access to stadium footage, and a supporters' group said it would petition the federation for change.
On Thursday Tremblay, still bandaged at left forearm, declined to call himself a hero. "Anyone there would have done the same. I'm glad Anne was there; medics always know what to do," he said. The unfolding row over withheld footage has left players, staff and supporters angry as inspectors comb the catwalk, and prosecutors work to determine whether the incident was preventable and who had responsibility for reporting the defect.
