Uefa’s refusal to allow concussion substitutes has been condemned following a serious clash of heads between England defender Alex Greenwood and Belgium’s Jassina Blom on Tuesday night.
The incident took place in the first half of the Lionesses’ Nations League defeat, with Greenwood requiring 14 minutes of treatment before she could be stretchered off. Blom, however, played on until the 74th minute despite having been down for several minutes and having a head injury bandaged.
In the Women’s Super League and Premier League, up to two concussed players per side can be taken off without it counting towards a team’s allocated number of substitutes – but the rule is not used in any Uefa competitions.
“I think we should have the same rules everywhere,” said Sarina Wiegman, asked by i whether European football’s governing body needed to bring in concussion substitutes.
“Consistency would be nice and good for the game.”
Brain injury charity Headway described the clash between Greenwood and Blom as “worrying” given that the Belgian forward was allowed to stay on the pitch.
“Not every head injury will result in a concussion,” Headway’s chief executive Luke Griggs tells i.
“However, with all head injuries the starting position should always be one based on the safety-first principle of ‘if in doubt, sit it out’. Unfortunately, there will have no doubt been many watching the game questioning whether that approach was taken with Jassina Blom.
“But the reality is that football continues to make things harder for medical teams by its stubborn refusal to introduce temporary concussion substitutes.”
The FA confirmed at half time that Greenwood was conscious and talking, with Wiegman adding that by full time she was able to walk around.
Fifa have been quicker to adopt the new legislation, trialled by football lawmakers Ifab, allowing concussion substitutes at the most recent men’s and women’s World Cups.
It is not the first time Uefa’s omission of the rule has come under fire. When Beth Mead suffered a head injury against Ajax in the Women’s Champions League last year, there was confusion among the officials and on the Arsenal bench as to whether she could be replaced with a concussion substitute.
The PFA has previously led calls for Uefa to rethink its policy in order to better protect players. Uefa did not respond when approached by i.
“It’s positive to hear reports from the England camp that Alex is doing well and I’m sure she will be given high-quality treatment for the concussion she sustained,” Griggs added.
“Trust and confidence in the process of assessing players for suspected concussion would be greatly improved if medical teams were given more time, in the quiet confines of a dressing room, to try to identify emerging signs of concussion.
“In turn, the vital educational message that head injuries must be taken seriously would be strengthened for watching grassroots players, including impressionable children.”
Greenwood is set to miss Manchester City’s crucial WSL trip to Arsenal on Sunday and will undergo further assessment back at her club.
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