MPs WANT TO QUIZ SPORT CHIEFS OVER DEMENTIA

called out FA chief Clarke after he used the term ‘coloured footballers’ during a DCMS hearing in November, which ultimately led to his resignation. The letter sent to Knight, with signatories including ex-Labour leader Lord Kinnock and former shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn, urged him to call an investigation into ‘research, whether restrictions go far enough, especially for adolescents, and whether the support offered to former footballers suffering degenerative neurological diseases is adequate’. If an inquiry is called, the game’s suits, including PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor, could be questioned. Chris Bryant MP, who chairs the All Party

Parliamentary Group for Acquired Brain Injury, told Sportsmail he is ready to call an emergency summit. He said: ‘I will be looking to bring all the governing bodies together before the parliamentary group next year to look at how they are dealing with this. ‘Football is not doing enough. In football, as in rugby, you can still get concussions and blows to the head but the protocols in rugby are stronger. Football is going to have to buck up.’ League Managers’ Association chief executive Richard Bevan added: ‘Let’s hope the Government understand the importance of research and recognition of dementia as an industrial condition. ‘We need to unite together to fight this condition and provide the support that’s needed for those suffering from it.’