Should football be more concerned about head injuries?
Yet only 2 of them were instantly withdrawn from play. Fabinho was immediately removed only 4 minutes after his introduction against Cardiff in April and when Mo Salah collided with Newcastle goalkeeper Dubravka, after 70 minutes at St James’ Park last night, the Liverpool medical staff again took no chances. Granted the player appeared to be out cold so they had little choice.
It is not clear whether Liverpool have a particular club protocol that comes into play when a player sustains a head injury or whether both examples were just particularly bad but what is for sure is more clubs should start to follow suit.
Last week in the Champions League semi-final between Tottenham and Ajax there was again a clear example of why FIFA need to rethink the rule regarding independent doctors.
Jan Vertonghen was left in a heap on the floor with a bloody nose, in a scene that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a boxing ring, after a collision with Ajax goalkeeper Onana and his teammate Alderweireld.
The Belgian was cleared up and given the go-ahead to carry by the medical team (who insist that the player passed all the relevant concussion checks) but then almost immediately he to be withdrawn after it appeared as though he was struggling to stand up.
A similar thing happened in Serie A in March. David Ospina took a blow to the head, was bandaged up, let in two unconvincing goals and later collapsed in his own box. At the time Napoli insisted that Ospina again passed the all medical tests and the reason he fainted was due to the cut on his head opening up.
This didn’t prevent Headway, a charity that works to improve life after brain injuries, express their dismay that protocols are not being followed.
“We are deeply shocked and appalled at these latest examples of concussion protocols not being followed in football,” said Headway chief executive Peter McCabe.
“David Ospina's treatment is particularly concerning and highlights exactly why we've always called for an 'if in doubt, sit it out' approach to concussion.”
While the professionality of club doctors cannot be doubted, it is unfair for them to make such split-second decisions under extreme pressure.
These doctors know the players on a professional and possibly personal level, they will know that as professionals these players will not want to leave the pitch at all costs, and they should not be put in such difficult positions.
It seems staggering that football is not treating head injuries seriously. Other major sports, namely American football, have seen huge improvements in recent years to protect players safety, despite President Trump tweeting that the NFL is “ruining the game” because the league’s safety restrictions and rules make the game less enjoyable to watch.
The NFL is a much slower sport, that already allows roll on roll of subs, so therefore is better suited to giving player proper medical checks during play, but football must do something to address the problem, either a 15 minute substitute while medical checks happen or just an extra substitution given if a player suffers a head injury who must be removed immediately.
In 2015, the USA banned heading for children under the age of 10 while players between 11 and 13 are restricted to only heading in training. Whilst it could be argued that a this could inadvertently affect players at an older age who don’t have the confidence to challenge with their heads fairly and could lead to players using their elbows to protect themselves instead, it is promising to see the US making an effort in such vital areas.
With FIFA and seemingly most of Europe’s FA’s ignoring the severity of head injuries, football might have to wait until the USA is a powerhouse in the world game before the rest of football started to follow suit.
@LMiller2411