Luke Griggs, Chief Executive of brain injury charity Headway, said:
“We are disappointed that IFAB has yet again refused to introduce a temporary concussion substitute rule.
“FIFA president Gianni Infantino claims football is ‘making player health the main priority’ by extending the trial of permanent substitutes. But this system has repeatedly failed to protect players as it relies on either medics making an immediate judgement or for a player to risk exacerbating their brain injury by playing on for 10 to 15 minutes to see how they get on.
“FIFA’s claim that the current system represents a ‘zero risk’ approach is not supported by the repeated failures to take an ‘if in doubt, sit it out!’ approach to concussion. These failures are in part due to the pressure placed on medics to make binary and immediate decisions in brief on-pitch assessments thanks to the permanent subs rule.
“FIFA and IFAB have had multiple opportunities to show leadership and introduce this important step for player safety.
“Frankly, with every IFAB meeting that passes without introduction of this rule, they lose further credibility in the arena of brain health in football.”
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