Lausanne (AFP)

The world union of football players (Fifpro) lamented Wednesday that the French Benjamin Pavard was not replaced after being struck by the German Robin Gosens in the face Tuesday at the Euro.

"Fifpro is in contact with UEFA to find out why the Concussion Charter has not been applied, and therefore Benjamin Pavard left the field," said the organization on Twitter on Wednesday.

At the hour of play, while Germany was led 1-0 and pushed to equalize, Gosens had arrived launched in the French surface and his thigh had struck the face of the side of the Blues.

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Pavard had collapsed from the violence of the shock, his head taking a second impact as it hit the ground.

He had nevertheless been able to get up and, after an evaluation of a few minutes, had resumed the game.

Sevilla defender Jules Koundé had gone to warm up, while the Blues coach still had five replacements, but Benjamin Pavard had finally finished the meeting.

"I took a hell of a shock. I was a little knocked out for 10 to 15 seconds. After that, it was better," said the player on BeIn Sport after the meeting.

The Fifpro refers to a series of recommendations on the treatment of concussions announced on Saturday by UEFA, after online exchanges with the doctors of the 24 teams involved in the tournament.

The decision whether or not to leave a player is up to each team, the Euro rules do not impose any systematic action to be taken in the event of a shock to the head.

- Delayed risk -

"We confirm that if a player of our team is suspected of having suffered a concussion, he will be immediately off the field, whether in training or in a match," provides this new charter.

The whole difficulty lies in the evaluation of the "suspicion" of concussion, carried out in the field immediately after the incident, when the symptoms of a shock to the brain may appear with delay.

Familiar with a number of sports prone to impacts and falls, from rugby to boxing to cycling, this problem has given rise to international recommendations from experts cited by FIFA.

According to this generic advice, the "initial examination" of the player is only a first step, and this diagnosis "must be confirmed within 24 to 72 hours of the incident, in a clinical setting and by a concussion specialist. cerebral ".

The rapid assessment in the field is used to detect worrying signals from the start, such as headaches, vomiting, convulsions or mental confusion: for this, the doctor observes the player, asks him standard questions and tests his actions.

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But one of the risks noted by specialists is that of a "subdural hematoma", where the blood gradually compresses the brain, making the athlete very vulnerable to a second impact when he seemed to have recovered well.

This danger has been particularly taken into account in rugby, which has toughened its recovery protocols and even changed its tackling rules after the death of several players.

© 2021 AFP