BRAVE RAPH HAS BECOME HEAD HONCHO
RAPHAEL VARANE has been praised for raising awareness of concussion – and experts say it must lead to a culture change.
Players are being told to do a maximum of 10 ‘higher-force’ headers in training each week amid concerns about the dangers of brain injury.
Manchester United defender Varane bravely revealed he pulled out of a game this season after flagging up symptoms of concussion and has urged other players not to be afraid to do the same.
Varane even tells his seven-year-old son not to head the ball when he plays.
The players’ union, the PFA, has a brain-health team which offers support to former members and their families who are living with dementia.
But It also goes into clubs on a regular basis to teach current players how to prevent future problems.
It is led by Dr Adam
White and supported by Dawn Astle and Rachel Walden, who have particularly powerful voices as they are daughters of players who died of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), and two ex-players.
Former Manchester United keeper David Ryan and ex-bath City striker Alex Fletcher, who joined the brain-health team 12 months after suffering a near-fatal head injury, are able to send a powerful message to players at all levels of the game.
Dr White said: “Players like Raphael Varane raising awareness about the risks of heading is significant.
“Players, management staff and medical teams have a collective responsibility to work together to ensure players’ long-term welfare and health are prioritised.
“To help create that culture within the game, the PFA has a dedicated brain-health team that delivers education to players at clubs nationwide.
“The training focuses on overall brain health, emphasises the importance of concussion protocols, and alerts players to the possible risks of CTE linked to playing football.
“We are also working on enhanced player protections, which includes areas such as the introduction of temporary concussion substitutions, reduced heading frequency in training, and rest periods between heading sessions.
“As their union, the safety and wellbeing of
players will always be our number one priority.”
The PFA co-funded the landmark FIELD study which provided the first major insight into health issues suffered by former professional footballers.
It revealed former players have approximately a three-and-a-half times higher rate of death due to neurodegenerative disease.
The PFA has also called for temporary concussion subs to be introduced.
They believe temporary subs allow for proper checks to be carried out, permit matches to restart without either side having fewer players, and reduce pressure on managers and medics to make potentially ill-advised decisions.
The brain-health team also highlights new heading guidance which recommends a maximum of 10 ‘higher force headers’ in any training week.