Heads in football should be closely scrutinized by UK MPs / investigators.
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FRANCK FIFE / AFP
British MPs announced Wednesday that they would study the links between sport and brain damage, which is particularly worrying in football and rugby.
The Parliamentary Commission in charge of digital, culture, media and sport (DCMS) will begin its hearings next Tuesday and will invite athletes, doctors as well as federation leaders to discuss the subject.
"We will particularly look at the role that the national authorities must take, their responsibility to understand the risks for the players, and what actions can be taken to limit these risks", explained Julian Knight, the president of the parliamentary committee.
Neurological disorders that raise questions
“A number of cases involving brain injuries in sport are before the courts and we want to assess the long-term implications for sport that the success of one of these complaints could have,” he said. He specifies.
At the beginning of December, a group of former rugby professionals, including hooker and 2003 world champion Steve Thompson, announced their intention to seek compensation from several instances after they were diagnosed with neurological disorders.
These former players believe that the many shocks to the head in training and in matches to which they have been subjected, as well as an overly lax management of concussions, are at the origin of their disorders and a collective complaint is being considered.
More heads for young British footballers
English football is also affected, as 1966 world champion Bobby Charlton recently revealed he had dementia, as were 4 other members of the English team at the time (Nobby Stiles, Jack Charlton, Martin Peters and Ray Wilson), all deceased.
A 2019 Scottish study estimated that a professional footballer was three and a half times more likely to develop neurodegenerative disorders than the rest of the population.
The English football federation has also launched an investigation into this increase in cases of dementia among former pros and the Premier League has set up substitutions for concussion on a trial basis at the end of the season, to allow teams to take all precautions when a player is the victim of a severe shock to the head.
In England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, instructions have also been given to clubs to ban heads in training for younger children.
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