SIR BOBBY BATTLING DEMENTIA
Curse of World Cup heroes:
HE SURVIVED the 1958 Munich Air Disaster and went on to become one of England’s greatest ever footballers and a national sporting icon.
Now Sir Bobby Charlton, 83, has fallen victim to the ‘curse of 66’ with the news that he has become the fifth World Cup winner to be diagnosed with dementia.
His wife Lady Norma gave her blessing for the Manchester United star’s condition to be reported, The Telegraph said.
The news comes after fellow 1966 hero Nobby Stiles (pictured) died on Friday after his own battle with the illness. Sir Bobby’s brother, Jack, who died in July, also had the condition, as well as their team-mates Martin Peters and Ray Wilson – who passed away in 2019 and 2018 respectively.
‘Yet another hero of our 1966 World Cup winning team has been diagnosed with dementia. Perhaps the greatest of them all, @SirBobby. This is both very sad and deeply concerning,’ tweeted Gary Lineker.
Manchester United added in a statement: ‘Everyone is saddened that this terrible disease has afflicted Sir Bobby Charlton and we continue to offer our love and support to Sir Bobby and his family.’ The FA also tweeted its best wishes.
Sir Bobby’s diagnosis comes after Stiles’ son John told former England captain Alan Shearer he was ‘utterly convinced’ heading a football was responsible for his father’s dementia.
A 2019 study of 7,676 footballers from 1900-1976 found they were three-and-ahalf times more likely to die from neurodegenerative disease than the general public. In 2003, former West Brom striker Jeff Astle died at the age of 59 with what a coroner described as an ‘industrial injury’. Astle’s daughter Dawn said ‘these players who have suffered must not be a statistic’.