DCMS Committee Chair comments on new heading guidance in English football

DCMS Committee Chair Julian Knight MP said:

"We are pleased football is taking precautionary action following our inquiry on concussion in sport but it is a shame that the science on which this guidance is based seems to be unpublished. Without this it is not clear how football arrived at the chosen header limits.”

"Football should base protocols on independent advice from those outside of the game. Without that, even decent change, is just another example of football marking its own homework.

"While it's true the evidence indicates a correlation between playing football and more beneficial health outcomes, there is no evidence to show that heading, which has risks to brain health, has any positive impact on overall health."

ENDS

Further information:

- The DCMS Committee held an inquiry on concussion in sport and published a report on Thursday 22 July 2021. Read it here.