Hayley: We must limit headers on the training field
Scotland hero Gordon’s daughter calls for law to protect footballers
SCOTLAND football hero Gordon McQueen’s daughter Hayley has called for a law to limit how many times players can head the ball in training.
The 69-year-old former Manchester United, Leeds United and St Mirren defender is suffering from vascular dementia.
His family believe years of heading balls during a career in which he was capped 30 times for Scotland led to his illness.
Sky Sports presenter Hayley, 42, called for greater use of virtual reality technology to mimic heading of the ball and UK-wide legislation to protect footballers.
A Glasgow University study showed former players have a three times higher risk of neurological disease and have a fivefold risk of Alzheimer’s.
Last year, the Scottish Football Association banned heading for primary school children.
Hayley said: “In Scotland, they’ve brought the ruling in that no children can header the ball in practice.
“They’ve even cut down within training sessions in a professional game.
“There are footballers now who are using virtual reality. There’s a headset that you put on and it simulates the heading of a ball.”
McQueen’s family revealed in February that he had been diagnosed.
Hayley says her father now struggles to eat as he has difficulty swallowing but can still recognise relatives.
She has become an ambassador for the Alzheimer’s Society’s Sport United
Against Dementia (SUAD) campaign. Hayley added: “I think the more people who speak up about it, including myself, who has the position of power in terms of my social media following, the more we can make people aware. Awareness is everything.”
McQueen’s former Leeds teammate Jack Charlton died with dementia last year and it was confirmed this year that Manchester United legends Sir Bobby Charlton and Denis Law had been diagnosed with the disease. Speaking to British Thoughts magazine, Hayley added: “This isn’t accidental, players are heading balls over and over and we now know that this causes brain damage.”
The more people speak up the better HAYLEY McQUEEN GORDON’S DAUGHTER