The FA have tried to sweep Jeff’s death under the carpet ... they don’t have a brush big enough
Family of tragic footballer Astle accuse English game’s rulers of failing players
Jeff was 59 when he died. The doctor thought his brain was that of someone at least 89 years old. That says it all
LOOKING FOR ANSWERS: Astle’s widow Laraine
JEFF ASTLE’S family have accused football’s authorities of failing players and parents after it emerged that the former West Brom and England centre-forward died from the same disease found in brain-damaged former boxers and American football stars.
In a week President Barack Obama called for far-reaching research into the link between contact sports and dementia, a world-leading neuropathologist, Dr Willie Stewart, reported that Astle’s death in 2002 at 59 was caused by chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE); not Alzheimer’s as previously believed.
Hundreds of former American footballers and boxers, as well as a number of rugby and ice hockey stars, have been found to have suffered from CTE, but Astle is the first confirmed case in English professional football. One concussion expert believes it is ‘the tip of the iceberg’.
In an exclusive interview with the Mail on Sunday, Astle’s family spoke of their mounting anger at the Football Association and Professional Footballers’ Association’s failure to act, 12 years after promising to deliver a 10-year joint study into the link between heading the ball and early onset dementia.
‘When I spoke to Dr Stewart he confirmed that Jeff had CTE,’ said his widow Laraine, who granted permission for sections of her husband’s brain to be re-examined following medical advances.
‘I asked him several things about Jeff’s brain and it was deeply upsetting to understand how badly damaged it was. Dr Stewart said to me that, had he not known Jeff was only 59 when he died, he would have thought his brain was that of someone at least 89 years old. I think that says it all.
‘It was very badly damaged and showed that Jeff had been misdiagnosed with Alzheimer’s when he was alive, when in fact he had CTE. I wonder how many other footballers out there are in the same position.’
In 2002, a coroner found that Astle’s death had been caused by ‘industrial disease’ linked to heading footballs after home office pathologist Dr Keith Robson found his brain ‘resembled that of a boxer’.
But advances in medical science have enabled Dr Stewart to confirm the diagnosis of CTE — formerly known as punch-drunk syndrome and assumed to affect only boxers. In the past five years, CTE — which causes mood swings, depression and eventually death and is easily mistaken for other dementias such as Alzheimer’s and Pick’s disease — has been found in the brains of more than 200 former American footballers, leading to a $765million (£456m) settlement between the National Football League and braindamaged stars.
Astle, a prolific header of the ball who won five England caps and was a member of the 1970 World Cup squad, is the first confirmed case of CTE in English football and there is mounting anecdotal evidence that the problem is far more widespread than feared.
Dr Stewart’s findings will lead to more questions over the FA and PFA’s failure to act in the years since Astle’s death. ‘It’s been 12 years since dad died and nothing has been done,’ said Astle’s daughter, Dawn, who along with sister Claire is planning to set up a foundation to help former players suffering from early-onset dementia.
‘It’s time people started to listen, because we believe many footballers have been misdiagnosed with Alzheimer’s and other diseases when in fact they had CTE caused by head injuries.
‘The FA have tried to sweep this under the carpet, but they don’t have a brush big enough. I’d like to think they have the resources, skills and the will to deliver a better and safer game.
‘Not every footballer will get this disease, but that is no reason to ignore it. Not all smokers develop lung cancer. The point is that there is a risk. Dad was found to have died from industrial disease caused by heading footballs, but in 12 years nothing has happened.
‘They [FA/PFA] haven’t done the research they said they would do. It is unforgivable and in my mind it borders on criminal negligence. It’s sad. The FA have a duty of care and a moral obligation to their players.
‘In 12 years we’ve heard nothing from the PFA either. Their whole reason for existence is meant to be to look after players. It’s a disgrace.’
Dr Stewart, a consultant neuropathologist at Glasgow Southern General hospital, who last year reported the first case of CTE in a former rugby player, said: ‘The major development in our understanding of this issue is that CTE — or dementia pugilistica as it was formerly termed — is not just a pathology we see in boxers. Any circumstance where someone is exposed to brain injury, especially repetitive brain injury, can lead to this pathology.
‘When we were looking at CTE in 2002 it was a case of: “I think this looks like a boxer’s brain, but I wouldn’t expect to see it in a footballer”. Now we are seeing these cases in American football, ice hockey, rugby and other sports.
‘Anecdotally, my feeling is that there are probably many cases other than Jeff Astle who aren’t being recognised. They are being given a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or another common dementia. I believe this is a major public health issue and should be treated as such.’
Astle’s family are still waiting to meet Greg Dyke after last month receiving an apology from the FA chairman for his organisation’s behaviour, having been alerted by the Mail on Sunday to their failure to carry out promised research.
An FA spokesman said yesterday: ‘This year has seen a cross-football commission on concussion, which includes representatives from the FA, leagues, club doctors and player representatives. The group is reviewing and improving the game’s approach to head injuries and has taken advice from other sports such as rugby and horse-racing.
‘The result of this work is that the rules on concussion are due to be changed ahead of the 2014-15 season.’