Families of England players who suffered brain damage condemn lack of concussion-sub trial

Families of England players who have suffered fatal or life-changing brain damage have condemned football’s lawmakers for refusing to approve a trial of temporary concussion substitutes.

The International Football Association Board was accused of “ignorance” and taking a “blinkered view” after deciding instead to extend testing of protocols that allow only permanent substitutes.

Those have been deemed by campaigners and experts to provide insufficient protection to players who suffer a head injury in an open letter written to Ifab ahead of its annual general meeting on Monday.

Its signatories included Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton, as well as Dawn Astle, who has been trying to get dementia in football to be recognised as an industrial disease after her father, the former England striker Jeff, died aged 59 from accumulated brain damage in 2002.

She said: “I’m really disappointed but, to be honest, am I surprised? I don’t think anything like this ever surprises me any more. Ifab are being ignorant, really, of what’s happening on the field. To deny healthcare professionals of the tools to do their job properly is wrong. And it’s the players’ brains that’ll pay the price, not them.”

Another signatory, Penny Watson, the wife of former England captain Dave Watson, who is living with dementia, said: “It’s disappointing to hear that Ifab do not seem to listen to the suggestions and advice from those eminent people involved in the head-injury debate.

“The pressure put on the medical teams and players to make snap decisions is enormous, especially with spectators watching everything and thanks to TV coverage thousands more.

“Apart from anything else, medical clinical examinations should be conducted privately. I cannot understand