France‘s decision to allow Benjamin Pavard to play on despite losing consciousness after a blow to the head has been labelled “disturbing” by leading brain charity Headway.
The 25-year-old received medical attention for less than three minutes after colliding with Germany’s Robin Gosens in Tuesday night’s match, which ended in a 1-0 victory to the world champions.
Pavard later admitted he had been “knocked out for 10, 15 seconds” but went on to complete the 90 minutes.
Peter McCabe, Headway’s chief executive, said the incident was “another example of football authorities failing to protect the short and long term health of a player”.
He added: “It was plain for all to see that Pavard was unable to protect himself from the fall. Pavard’s later statement that he lost consciousness confirms the seriousness of the incident.
“We have continuously been told that football’s concussion protocols are fit for purpose and that temporary concussion substitutes are not necessary. But here we have yet another example where it is simply not credible to suggest that a concussion could not be ‘suspected’ or a possible consequence of the impact. However, after a brief on-pitch assessment the player was allowed to continue.”
Earlier this month, Uefa confirmed that the 24 teams taking part in Euro 2020 had signed a “concussion charter”, agreeing to a range of measures to better protect players who sustained head injuries.
Those commitments included neurological baseline testing and access to TV replays for team medics.
FIFPro, the world players’ union, have also demanded that players have to rest for a minimum of six days after a concussion, but any such law is yet to be introduced.
Uefa decided against trialling concussion substitutes at the European Championship and only five domestic leagues – including the English Premier League – in world football are currently utilising that system.
“It appeared that the referee was attempting to speed up the medical team and usher them and the player off the pitch, rather than allowing them the time they needed to assess the seriousness of the injury,” McCabe added.
“Why is it so hard for football to accept it has got this wrong and follow the example set by other sports by introducing temporary concussion substitutes?
“The way this incident was handled was sickening to watch.”
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from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3pZCq88
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