Focus on injuries

AUSTRALIAN footballers want the A-League to set a new standard in concussion testing amid growing global concern about the long-term effects of head injuries in the game.

With experts warning football could face legal action from players in the future, similar to the class actions brought against the NFL in the US, a radical change to the laws of the game is on the drawing board.

A spate of head injuries this season in the A-League has highlighted the pressure on doctors to make an almost-instant assessment of whether a player is fit to continue – knowing repeat concussions can cause brain damage.

FIFA’s lawmaking arm is examining a proposal to introduce “concussion substitutes” later this year, permitting temporary replacements to allow for more detailed tests on players suffering head injuries.

Though A-League boss Greg O’Rourke believes the competition’s current protocols for treating potential concussion incidents are as good as they can be under the current laws, all sides see it as inevitable that football will have to change its rules.

After a number of head injuries this season, A-League officials reviewed the protocols which allow for a player to be examined on the pitch for up to three minutes, and longer on the sidelines if necessary.

The A-League uses the socalled SCAT 5 test, which measures a player’s cognitive performance after suffering a blow to the head.

But the global body of players’ associations, FIFPro, says there have been too many examples in world football of coaches pressuring team doctors to clear players.

The PFA in Australia and A-League officials have discussed options such as doctors getting access to immediate footage of what caused the injury, and the appointment of independent medical staff.

But almost all the measures would need longer than the current three minutes, which is why groups including the major European leagues, FIFPro have called for so-called “concussion subs”.