The shock suffered by Benjamin Pavard during the France-Germany Euro match raised many questions.

Knocked out, the Blue has not yet been replaced, which the world players union (Fifpro) lamented on Wednesday.

But the decision of whether or not to exit a player hit in the head is up to each team.

Rekindling the debate on the management of concussions in football, the world players' union (Fifpro) lamented Wednesday that the French Benjamin Pavard was not replaced after being struck by the German Robin Gosens in the face on Tuesday to 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.

"I took quite a shock"

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 Bayern defender on BeIn Sport after the meeting.

"Pavard was fit"

Asked Wednesday, his teammate Raphaël Varane explained that it had taken "a few moments" for Pavard "to be totally well", but then "he was in condition to play".

"The doctors arrived and they saw that he was perfectly aware of the situation and that he was fit," said the defender of the Blues, also "vigilant".

UEFA and the French Football Federation indicate for their part "to be in contact" about Benjamin Pavard, who normally participated Wednesday in the scrubbing of the Blues in Munich.

>> READ ALSO -

 Euro: faced with German aggressiveness, the Blues held on

The decision whether or not to exit a player hit in the head is up to each team, the body not providing for an independent medical assessment, or systematic action to be taken in the event of a head impact.

Scrapping on this subject for years, Fifpro had welcomed a series of recommendations on the treatment of concussions announced on Saturday by UEFA, after online discussions with the doctors of the 24 teams involved in the tournament.

"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 difficulty of assessing "suspicions" of concussion

But all the 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 can 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 outset, such as headaches, vomiting, convulsions or mental confusion: for this, the doctor observes the player, asks him standard questions and tests his actions.


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.