The FA meets concussion concerns by releasing guidelines

Caution is the watchword as governing body says: 'If in doubt, sit them out'

Manchester City's Bacary Sagna wins an aerial duel with Aston Villa's Jordan Ayew (Getty Images)

A fortnight after United States Soccer sought to ban heading entirely for under-11s, and restrict it for under-14s, for fear of head injuries, the Football Association has brought in detailed guidelines on how to deal with suspected concussion in players of all ages.

A ban on heading is not suggested, but any adult grassroots player thought to have suffered concussion should not play for nearly three weeks, with a 23-day minimum for under-18s. Players under elite care, which will apply to most professionals and those at academies, can return sooner but caution is the watchword. “If in doubt, sit them out” is the sub-title of the FA’s concussion guidelines, a downloadable 17-page document.

The guidelines have been devised by a panel of experts brought together by the FA earlier this year. This was in part a response to a campaign waged by the family of former England striker Jeff Astle who died in 2002 from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive degeneration of the brain caused by repeated head trauma.

Dr Willie Stewart, a consultant neuropathologist at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, who made the diagnosis of Astle, was part of the FA panel. He said: “They are a fantastic development and hopefully have the potential to impact on sport in England as a whole.”

Although concussion is more frequent in rugby, there have been some high-profile incidents in football in recent years. Tottenham were criticised for allowing Hugo Lloris to play on in 2013 after suffering a blow to the head at Everton, as were Chelsea after separate incidents involving Oscar and Thibaut Courtois last season. In each case, the clubs said the players had not suffered concussion.

Velicia Bachtiar, chief scientific officer of The Drake Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation funding research into the understanding of concussion injuries in sport, said: “It is good to see the FA taking the issue of concussion seriously, and in the absence of firm clinical evidence, an ‘if in doubt, sit them out’ approach is appropriate. However, there is much work to be done to improve the evidence base.”

With that in mind the FA’s expert panel are also working on devising research into the long-term effects of repeatedly heading the ball, the action that is thought to have led to Astle’s premature death. When concluded they will take their findings to Fifa.