Gordon Taylor denies PFA asleep on dementia in football
By Alistair MagowanBBC Sport
Gordon Taylor is set to leave the PFA in June after 40 years in charge
Players union chief Gordon Taylor denied his organisation had been asleep over dementia in football and wished he had unlocked the issue.
Former Blackburn striker Chris Sutton has accused the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) chief of having blood on his hands .
But Taylor told MPs in a parliamentary hearing into concussion in sport: We ve never been asleep on it. We were frustrated by the initial research, the data was not there.
Taylor, who is due to leave the PFA in June after 40 years in charge, said that when it found the correct data, which led to the landmark FIELD study published by Dr Willie Stewart in 2019, it led to the best evidence in the world .
BBC News
By Philippa Roxby
image copyrightGetty Images
image captionTeenage girls were more likely to be concussed on contact with the ball or a goalpost than another player
Teenage girls who play football run nearly twice the risk of concussion as teenage boys and take longer to recover, a study of US high school football suggests.
It found concussion in girls was less easy to spot and they were less likely to be taken off the pitch.
Females are known to be at greater risk of concussion although it s not understood why.
It s time to focus on girls - and not just boys, UK researchers said.
Leeds players made their feelings known about the Super League before playing Liverpool (Clive Brunskill/PA)
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Gordon Taylor, the outgoing chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association, has praised the role of players in derailing the breakaway European Super League project.
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, team-mate James Milner and Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan were among those to voice opposition to plans for the ‘closed-shop’ league involving Liverpool, City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham.
London (AFP) – Professional Footballers’ Association chief Gordon Taylor denied on Tuesday that his organisation had been “asleep” over the issue of dementia during a parliamentary inquiry examining concussion in sport.
The union boss was asked by British lawmakers about criticism directed at the PFA from campaigners for its record on research into the possible link between head injuries and neurodegenerative disorders.
Dawn Astle’s father Jeff, who had a lengthy playing career with West Bromwich Albion, suffered a long battle with dementia before his death in 2002.
Former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton has accused Taylor of having “blood on his hands” over the issue of dementia. Sutton’s father Mike, also a former professional player, died in December last year after suffering from the condition.
MPs were accused of giving Gordon Taylor an easy ride over the Professional Footballers’ Association’s (PFA) record on dementia research and support.
Outgoing PFA chief executive Taylor gave evidence to the parliamentary inquiry into concussion in sport at his own request, but campaigners such as Dawn Astle and Chris Sutton felt the MPs on the digital, culture, media and sport (DCMS) committee failed to ask the key questions.
The committee even veered off topic completely at times, asking Taylor about the European Super League and the possibility of a takeover at Arsenal.
Chair Julian Knight also claimed that Alan Shearer had refused a request to appear before it and accused the former England striker of lacking personality.