Heading for ban?

For those of us who despair at the amount of time a football is above the field of play at matches, the recently published research on neurodegenerative diseases in the game will prompt a number of questions (your report, 22 October).

The researchers were anxious to stress the overall health benefits of participation in the game and the need for ongoing research, but there was a reluctance to address what seems to me the central issue. Should heading be banned altogether?

Would the quality and entertainment value of games be lessened if players were

encouraged to keep the ball on the grass (or plastic surface) nearly all the time?

That is not to say there cannot be the occasional aerial joust but football authorities have to live up to their responsibilities. They should be under as much pressure to ensure the safety and wellbeing of players as any employer who should be striving to create an ever safer place of work.

The case for a season-long experimental ban on heading, both north and south of the Border, is, in my view, a very strong one. The name of the game, after all, is football.

Many will argue that the excitement and anticipation of a corner or a free kick outside the box depends on the prospect of a headed goal or a dramatic block by heads in a “wall”. But that has to be balanced against the consequences of head clashes with potentially disastrous effects.

The more emphasis there is on the importance of heading, the more time there will be spent on this in training, with long-term effects that the researchers have highlighted. The politics of football can sometimes be as complicated as the politics of Brexit (though on a smaller scale).

The football authorities still need to rise to the challenge if they are to be seen as both safety conscious and entrepreneurial.

BOB TAYLOR Shiel Court, Glenrothes