A LEADING brain injury charity has accused football’s governing bodies of dicing with death and called for “concussion substitutes” following Jan Vertonghen’s sickening collision.
The Tottenham defender returned to the field after a horrific clash of heads with team-mate Toby Alderweireld during Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final first leg defeat to Ajax.
And Headway CEO Peter McCabe has demanded a review of concussion protocols after Vertonghen collapsed seconds after being given the all-clear by Spurs medics.
An exasperated McCabe told SunSport: “It’s just not acceptable that this continues to happen.
“How many more times does this have to happen and what sort of injuries do people have to sustain before they start to do the right thing?
“We don’t think the football authorities take this seriously enough and it seems to be when there’s an incident there is a response to it as opposed to a policy being implemented.
“If you had a protocol where the team doesn’t lose out because there is a temporary substitute for concussion it means they can take the time to make a proper assessment.
How many more times does this have to happen and what sort of injuries do people have to sustain before they start to do the right thing
Headway CEO Peter McCabe
“In addition to a concussion substitute, the doctor making the decision should be independent of the club. They should be an expert in concussion and head injuries.”
McCabe warned of the dangers by highlighting Ryan Mason’s retirement from football last year after the former defender fractured his skull in a clash of heads with Chelsea defender Gary Cahill.
He also referred to Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris refusing to come off in a game against Everton in 2013 despite losing consciousness.
On Tuesday, a groggy Vertonghen was treated for five minutes before returning to the field.
McCabe said: “[Vertonghen] showed all the signs of concussion. He wouldn’t have gone back on because those symptoms would have become apparent during the assessments over an extended period of time rather than rushed to make a judgement.
“There is a greater danger of a subsequent head injury if someone has sustained a concussion. It increases their chances of a further head injury and people can die or be left with life-long disabilities.
“I would hope that this would be a wake-up call for the authorities but we have had too many incidents where this type of thing has happened and was [only] important at the time.”
Headway will issue a letter to football’s governing bodies to suggest policy changes.
Head of Fifa’s medical committee Michel D’Hooghe says his team will consider concussion substitutes but doesn’t agree with independent doctors.
D’Hooghe told The Times: “At every occasion and before every tournament we tell the doctors that they must follow the protocols. The team doctors must be responsible for their own players.
“They know the players and are in a better position to assess whether they have been unconscious, or are in danger. It’s more difficult for independent doctors to assess.”
