Match doctors shouldn’t take orders from anyone
Mellon wants rule change for medical response after son’s horror head knock
RELIEVED Micky Mellon hopes the horror head clash his son endured will lead to an immediate change in the football rule book.
Dundee striker michael mellon was knocked out after a sickening aerial collision with St Johnstone stopper liam Gordon on Sunday.
Mellon junior was knocked unconscious and it took the quick-thinking of Dens club doctor Derek McCormack to run on to the field and administer immediate treatment – even though referee David munro had waved play on.
His dad – now oldham boss – hopes football can learn lessons and that the rules are changed so if something serious happens on the field, the doctor has the authority to run on right away.
Mellon said: “the doctor is there to make sure the players are safe. He is a highly-trained specialist and should be able to enter the field of play at his own discretion if one of the players or refs need his assistance.
“Football must learn and make it a rule that if something serious happens then a doctor must be allowed to go straight on.
“People are telling me the
Dundee doctor might get sanctioned for going on to treat michael without permission.
“I’m just glad doctor McCormack said, ‘i don’t care if i get sanctioned because the boy needs me.’ He has seen the way he has landed and has been knocked out.
“What if the doctor hadn’t gone on and the unthinkable had happened?
“We could have been talking about michael’s law.”
Mellon has been a manager for 16 years but hopes no parent has to go through the hell of what he and his wife Jane had to endure on Sunday afternoon.
The former Dundee United gaffer added: “We all need to learn from it. i am speaking as a dad here, football has to learn.
“I am just so, so glad that there was a doctor there at the scene to get on and take immediate action.
“I never want a parent to go through what michael’s mum Jane and i had to go through on Sunday, without knowing that a doctor can just run on and administer treatment.
“When it comes to doctors, they are there for the safety of the players and people on the pitch.”
Mellon believes football should take a leaf out of rugby’s book because player safety is the be-all-and-end-all.
He said: “We know michael has been very lucky. He is oK but there are other players who might not have been so lucky.
“I saw the incident and i watched how michael landed. He has been very fortunate that a doctor has been there and acted as quickly as he did.
“There should be no rules about stopping a doctor from entering a field of play. that shouldn’t even be a rule.
“It should be like rugby, get the medical experts on when something serious has happened.
“Let’s get the rules changed – the safety of the players and officials has to be paramount.
The mellons watched the game from their home in the north west of England on Sunday, some six hours from Dens Park.
They know they are owe a debt of gratitude to mcCormack and everybody at Dundee. “my wife and i are indebted to the doctor,” micky said. “it was horrible to watch that, as a parent it was just horrendous.
“i have spoken to the doctor and what a humble guy. He is also a brilliant football guy.
“We just thanked him and said we were just so glad that there were people like him with michael when it happened.”
The on-loan Burnley striker is now thankfully on the road to recovery and his biggest worry when he spoke to his parents was his dog Ruby.
micky has thanked Dundee and Scottish football in general for rallying round his son.
He said: “the first thing he said was, ‘Can you make sure my dog Ruby is all right?’
“We were all up to high doh over him and he was more concerned about his dog. the doctor was with him that first night. He is up in Scotland and has been well looked after.
“my mum is up staying with him in Broughty Ferry.
“His neighbours have been running about after him, getting his dinner and making sure his dog is okay.”