PFA chief Gordon Taylor says they will fund research into dementia Credit: REX
Gordon Taylor has promised that
the Professional Footballers’ Association is willing to deliver
ground-breaking research into dementia among former players, although
campaigners have immediately warned that any new study will only be
credible if it is independent.
In what is potentially a major step forward, Taylor told The Telegraph that there had been a hope that Fifa would lead on the issue, but that his organisation is ready to provide funds to answer whether footballers are suffering disproportionately with degenerative brain disease.
In what is potentially a major step forward, Taylor told The Telegraph that there had been a hope that Fifa would lead on the issue, but that his organisation is ready to provide funds to answer whether footballers are suffering disproportionately with degenerative brain disease.
Four of the 1966 World Cup-winning team are struggling with memory problems – an incidence rate that has been described as “frightening” by experts – and The Telegraph has this week joined the Jeff Astle Foundation in campaigning for the overdue research.
It is 14 years since Astle was found to have been killed by
brain disease caused by football and, after acknowledging that a
previous joint PFA and Football Association study failed to deliver
answers, Taylor has now pledged that his organisation will act.
TODAY 01-06-2016 RECOMMENDED SURE-BET.
#GET_Filtered_Soccer_Match
With 1.70-1.75
“It was felt this should be handled by Fifa with their resources on a worldwide scale but it doesn’t look to be getting addressed,” said Taylor. “We need to deliver something comprehensive and what is medically accepted research to address this issue.
TODAY 01-06-2016 RECOMMENDED SURE-BET.
#GET_Filtered_Soccer_Match
With 1.70-1.75
ODDS Daily. BET $10 And Roll-Over To EARN
$410 In Every 7 Days.1OO% STREAMS Of
INCOME You Can Trust. Call +234
7046498734
Now. Terms & Conditions apply.
MATCH STARTS BY 12:00GMT(12:00pm).
LIKE US ON FACEBOOK TO GET EVERYDAY WINING GAME https://m.facebook.com/Soccer-Explorers-Sports-25508669816…/
“It was felt this should be handled by Fifa with their resources on a worldwide scale but it doesn’t look to be getting addressed,” said Taylor. “We need to deliver something comprehensive and what is medically accepted research to address this issue.
"I feel there is enough income coming into the game in this country
for us to set a lead at least to the world and show that we owe this to
our members with respect to what has happened to Jeff Astle and other
people to see whether there can be established a causal link with regard
to concussion or the heading of the ball, which is a lot more
difficult.”
Asked whether the PFA were willing to lead the research if other stakeholders do not step up, Taylor said: “That is our commitment. As time has gone on, a frustration has built up. We would be prepared to lead. It would be nice to have help from the data they have at the FA, the Premier League and the Football League but I do think it is something that needs addressing sooner rather than later.
"If Fifa are not going to do it, we have got to start taking a lead. Research is fundamental to enable the authorities to be more specific with regards to safeguards and warnings.”
What if England had never won the World Cup?
Play!
02:37
Taylor has also made his commitment in an email to Dawn Astle, Jeff’s daughter, who has been increasingly frustrated and suspicious at the lack of action since 2002. The FA has this week also promised to collaborate with the PFA and Fifa over potential research but, while welcoming of the seemingly more proactive stance, medics and campaigners have warned that they must not repeat the controversies in American football.
Just last week, a congressional report accused the National Football league (NFL) of attempting to steer money away from a prominent Boston University researcher and redirect it to members of its own committee on brain injuries.
The 91-page report, issued by
members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, alleged that league
officials tried to influence a US government research study on American
football and brain disease after agreeing to a donation to fund
research. The report stated that the NFL’s actions “fit a long-standing
pattern of attempts to influence the scientific understanding of the
consequences of repeated head trauma”.
The researcher had been selected by the National Institutes of Health but, according to the report, the NFL ultimately did not fund the $16 million study and the costs were instead absorbed by taxpayers. The NFL have acknowledged raising concerns “through the appropriate channels” but “categorically reject any suggestion of improper influence”.
The researcher had been selected by the National Institutes of Health but, according to the report, the NFL ultimately did not fund the $16 million study and the costs were instead absorbed by taxpayers. The NFL have acknowledged raising concerns “through the appropriate channels” but “categorically reject any suggestion of improper influence”.
Dr Willie Stewart, the
neuropathologist who examined the brain of former England striker Jeff
Astle and diagnosed chronic traumatic encephalopathy, stressed that the
football authorities’ involvement should now not extend beyond providing
the means to independently answer the question of whether players were
at an increased risk of dementia.
Stewart suggested that a body like the Medical Research Council could oversee a tender process for the research and that the football authorities should then “stand as far away as possible”.
Dawn Astle, who has been approached by a further six families of former footballers with dementia since the issue was first highlighted in The Telegraph, echoed that sentiment. “What’s important to us is that it is independent,” she said.
“We don’t want football looking into football just like you don’t want cigarette companies looking into the dangers of smoking. The studies need to be done by the proper people with the resources. What is also very important to us is to look back and say, ‘Have we got a problem with dementia in our former players?’ and, if it is the case, these players need to be looked after properly.”
Stewart suggested that a body like the Medical Research Council could oversee a tender process for the research and that the football authorities should then “stand as far away as possible”.
Dawn Astle, who has been approached by a further six families of former footballers with dementia since the issue was first highlighted in The Telegraph, echoed that sentiment. “What’s important to us is that it is independent,” she said.
“We don’t want football looking into football just like you don’t want cigarette companies looking into the dangers of smoking. The studies need to be done by the proper people with the resources. What is also very important to us is to look back and say, ‘Have we got a problem with dementia in our former players?’ and, if it is the case, these players need to be looked after properly.”
While there has been no sense of
UK families wanting to go down the route of American football, where
there have been compensation claims approaching $1 billion, many do
believe that there should be more help to care for affected former
players.
Taylor has watched the Hollywood film Concussion and is also hoping to work with other sports on the issue. “The film is very dramatic, it is almost a must-see for anyone in sport, particularly administrators to see how sometimes things cannot be addressed seriously enough,” he said. “There has never been a more appropriate time [to act] with the work done by the Astle daughters and many other people.”
CREDIT TO:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/06/01/pfa-chief-executive-gordon-taylor-promises-research-into-dementi/
Taylor has watched the Hollywood film Concussion and is also hoping to work with other sports on the issue. “The film is very dramatic, it is almost a must-see for anyone in sport, particularly administrators to see how sometimes things cannot be addressed seriously enough,” he said. “There has never been a more appropriate time [to act] with the work done by the Astle daughters and many other people.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your contribution