Still feeling dazed over FIFA’s handling of concussion
It’s been almost a week since arguably the greatest ever World Cup came to an end and it’s now time to debate whether or not we just witnessed the greatest round ball carnival of them all.
We must engage in the key factors like quality and quantity of goals, star players and nations along with the magical moments and mentally scarring defeats that made up the headlines. The only way these factors can be overridden and thrown into the deep end is whether or not they occurred under the shadow of certain controversies.
For example, when Uruguay’s Diego Godin scored the stellar header that put them in front of the 2006 world champions, the next day papers told a story of a ferocious Luis Suarez and an act of cannibalism that put the national team in the ultimate hot seat.
Croatia couldn’t even enjoy a 4-0 thrashing over The Indomitable Lions after Barcelona midfielder Alex Song was red-carded after a pathetic and cowardly elbow to the back of Mario Mandzukic. This immediately sparked claims and even an investigation into whether the game was fixed or not, putting Croatia in a situation they never deserved to be in.
It was hard to concentrate on the ultimate battle of fatigue the Netherlands vs. Argentina semi-final became, without keeping a constant eye on Javier Mascherano. I wish all this focus on the South American defender was devoted to admiring arguably his best game of the tournament, and how well he handled the pressure and struck up competition with his soon-to-win-golden-boot teammate Lionel Messi.
But sadly it wasn’t. Mascherano was at serious risk, and not the ‘You better not stuff up or you won’t want to return to Argentina’ type of risk. He was, as ESPN Soccer presenter Taylor Twellman described, just one head bump away from possibly fatal harm.
In the 27th minute of this match, Mascherano clashed heads with Dutch midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum while contesting for the ball in mid-air. What followed was scary, and if you ever saw the music video for Michael Jackson’s Thriller as a little kid, you’ll know what I mean.
He regained control of his stance after the clash only to clutch his head and drop back to the ground while looking as if he hadn’t drunk a glass of water in the Brazilian conditions for a week. Almost immediately both Dutch and Argentinian players began signaling desperately for Mascherano to gain medical attention.
They were scared and so was I. Three minutes later Mascherano returned to the field and regained play as if nothing had ever happened. He had rejected to undergo proper medical examinations and continued at his own will, this is not only irresponsible and juvenile but also life threatening.
British Neuroscience Professor Michael Gray said on the subject that the brain initially is not trained to feel the symptoms of concussion. Gray also stated you cannot believe that someone is not concussed just because they are able to play on, all this does is postpone the symptoms and increase the risk of intensified ones.
Studies have also shown that following a concussion the brain is in a more vulnerable state increasing the chances of a second concussion dramatically, meaning once concussed, some of the slightest bumps to the head can trigger concussion symptoms.
But it’s not Mascherano’s fault.
The poor bloke had been concussed in the biggest football match of his life, the gears in his head clearly weren’t grinding smoothly and he was under immense pressure from his nation to play the greatest game of his life. If he suddenly feels alright, why wouldn’t he have a go?
It shows poor form that the medical team and coaching staff permitted he who had suffered an injury to his most fragile compartment (let’s forget the crown jewels for a second) to play on in a competitive and ruthless game of football.
All probably as it would be too much of a ‘hassle’ to switch up their game plan.
What these people need to understand is this game has more influence on the hundreds of millions of children around the world than coach Sabella’s notebook. This is not about concussion in football. But the issue of concussion as a whole.
Studies from the American Academy of Paediatrics have shown and concluded that head injuries count for somewhere between 4-22% of injuries sustained through contact in football. A large chunk of these head injuries result in a concussion.
Last year in the UK, 14 year old Rugby Union player Benjamin Robinson died after suffering multiple head traumas during the second half of his game. Video footage later revealed that at multiple times during the half his parents pleaded for him to be taken off, but he and the coaching staff insisted he play on.
And more recently, NRL star Liam Fulton has announced his retirement from the game following a series of head traumas he suffered throughout the season. He claimed to be suffering from severe loss of memory as a result and says he will now spend the rest of his career travelling around the country educating players of a younger age on the rarely known dangers of concussion.
Football is not renowned for head clashes but because of the competitive nature of the sport ‘freak’ accidents will occur. I understand this seems scary. But what’s even scarier is how easy this is to fix. Concussion is an issue that doesn’t require strict guidelines or protective clothing to fix, it just needs proactive intervention.
It all starts with public efforts such as the team medical staff pulling Mascherano off for proper tests and when they don’t, a penalty being imposed by FIFA. Regardless of what a player ‘knows’ regarding their concussion, just take them off.
For the love of football and the safety of players.
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