Luke Griggs, Interim Chief Executive at brain injury charity Headway, said: “This is the second incident at this World Cup where a player’s brain health has not been prioritised.
“Medics are being forced to make snap judgements under pressure, which is resulting in players being allowed to stay on the field despite the assumed presence of at least some doubt over potential concussion.
“FIFA and IFAB’s refusal to introduce a temporary concussion substitute rule is causing undue risk to players. The rule is supposed to be ‘if in doubt, sit it out’ not ‘play on and see how it goes’.
“The longer FIFA and IFAB refuse to act, the less credibility they will have in any discussions about brain health in football.
“Their complacency when it comes to brain health is frankly shocking, it’s time to take control of this situation and look after the players.”
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