Families of footballers who have died with neurodegenerative conditions and charities have combined for many years to call for a reduction of heading in football.
They welcomed the guidelines when they were introduced in England, Wales and Scotland, but believe they are largely being ignored as things stand.
“The guidelines from the FA are out there but coaches don’t know them,” said, Dr Judith Gates, founder of Head Safe Football and widow of former Middlesbrough defender Bill Gates, who died after suffering from CTE.
“We have worked with 44 EFL clubs and only 1% knew about them, and that’s just the professional game.
“This begins in youth, so it’s young people whose brains we need to be caring for.”
One of the key points campaigners have made so far is that they are not seeking to remove heading from football, or fundamentally change the way the game is played, but to reduce the amount for heading in training in order to lessen the frequency of head impacts which have the potential to cause damage.
“I work as a broadcaster in sport, and I love it,” McQueen’s daughter Hayley, a Sky Sports presenter, said outside court. “People say, ‘Oh, you’ve ruined the game if you take heading out of it’. But we can still continue to have heading in football, but do it so much safer.”
Prof Stewart added: “Cutting exposure as much as possible at that elite level, reducing it as much as possible in training, is a very good starting point.”
Hayley and her sister Anna Forbes also insisted more changes should be made regarding care for former players suffering from neurodegenerative diseases and their families.
They believe that the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) should play a greater role.
“I emailed the PFA literally begging for help when my dad was at his lowest point, and we were looking for respite care,” Hayley McQueen explained.
“That email was left unanswered. After three attempts at chasing, they sent me on a wild goose chase for support where they offered something called an admiral nurse, which was a Zoom call with a nurse to tell me what government support we were able to access – which was none, by the way.
“It depleted my parents’ lifetime savings looking for private care for my dad, and we relied on charities for respite care. The PFA gave us nothing – no support whatsoever.”
The PFA said: “There is an ongoing need for a collective response, from football and beyond, to ensure former players affected by neurodegenerative disease, and their families, are properly recognised and supported.”
Hayley McQueen also called for football clubs to pay for annual brain scans for current players.
“I think there is an epidemic at the moment,” she told Times Radio. “I speak to a lot of the wives and daughters and sons of players, who are terrified, and they’re already showing signs and don’t know what on earth to do about it.
“Had they known the risks when they played, maybe they’d have made a major decision not to head the ball as much.
“If you were to scan a footballer at the start of every season, almost like having a full medical, why not? There’s enough money in football.”
No new measures have been announced, but after the McQueen verdict on Monday, various football authorities released statements insisting they are committed to ensuring player safety.
The FA said: “While any association between heading a football and later life brain health outcomes remains an area of ongoing scientific and medical research and debate, we continue to take a leading role in reviewing and improving the safety of our game together with all stakeholders and international governing bodies.”
The Scottish FA added: “We will continue to monitor guidance based on evolving research as part of the association’s commitment to ensuring the national game is a safe and enjoyable environment for all players.”
