GRILL TAYLOR
Families of dementia victims call for outgoing PFA chief to be hauled in for questioning by MPs
FAMILY of former footballers who died of dementia have written to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee calling for PFA chief Gordon Taylor to be hauled in for questioning.
The letter — written by John Stiles, the son of late 1966 World Cup hero Nobby, and seen by Sportsmail — explains why they feel the PFA and its chief executive let members down. It claims players ‘ receive help if they are friends with Taylor or his cronies’ and says there is evidence of families’ pleas being ignored.
On the union, it adds: ‘It has been a byword for scandal and cronyism for many years and it is clear that this abuse of power by Taylor lies at the heart of the dementia scandal.’
When the DCMS Committee confirmed its inquest into concussion in sport, it was announced two sessions would be held.
The second of those sessions took place on Tuesday and, while FA, RFU and World Rugby chiefs were called in for questioning, nobody appeared on behalf of the PFA.
When we asked if there was scope for a third session to be scheduled — potentially with Taylor involved — we were told the decision would need to be taken by the full committee.
Sportsmail columnist Chris Sutton, whose father, Mike, died of dementia in December, has also put his name to the letter, addressed to DCMS chair Julian Knight and his fellow committee members.
The emotionally charged letter picks apart a statement issued by Taylor to the BBC this week in which he claimed his union had been the best in the world at tackling dementia.
In response to that, the letter states: ‘Taylor offers no evidence to support his claims to have done more than any other union. He provides no evidence of any tangible progress having been made. He provides no detail of what such efforts entailed. He seeks to avoid blame by referring to the scale of the issue.’
It adds: ‘The PFA should have been the leaders in this campaign. They have completely failed to discharge their moral and legal obligations.’
The PFA told this newspaper: ‘The PFA welcomes the inquiry by MPs on the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee regarding the links between sport and long-term brain injuries. As a players’ association, we were not called to either session.
‘However, it is vitally important to add our members’ collective voice to this landmark inquiry.
‘Alongside fellow sportspersons’ unions, we will be submitting a written submission to the Committee and hope our contribution can help make football and other sports as safe as possible.’
Limits on how many times a player can head the ball in training are set to be introduced for the 2021- 22 season — in another victory for Sportsmail’s fight against dementia.
The Premier League confirmed yesterday that Liverpool and Manchester City’s women’s and youth sides will wear special mouthguards in training to assess the impact heading the ball.