Eddie Howe has spoken up about the recent concussion substitution rule change rejected by International Football Association Board (IFAB) in the hopes that they will revisit their decision.
Concussion in sport is a hot topic lately as the more we learn about the long-term effects of concussions, the more pressure is put on sports chiefs to do all they can to minimise their impact.
One such idea mooted by football chiefs was to introduce temporary substitutions while a player is checked over by the medical staff for signs of concussion. The Mirror reports that the Premier League and Professional Footballer’s Association wrote to the board ahead of their conference at the weekend to urge them to pass the new rule. However, despite the pressure from players and managers, IFAB shot it down.
Howe backs the temporary concussion substitute idea
Currently, clubs have the concussion substitution which is a change that can be made outside of the five allowed per game if a player is withdrawn with a head injury. In such cases, the opposing team are also afforded an extra substitution to level the playing field.
Eddie Howe is one of the managers on board with the temporary sub idea. Newcastle defender Fabian Schar took a hefty knock to the head against Manchester United at Wembley during the EFL Cup Final. He was eventually cleared to play the rest of the game, however he wasn’t in the squad to play Manchester City a week later. Having a temporary substitution in play would have given Newcastle’s medical team more time to properly assess whether Schar was actually okay to continue.
Talking to the BBC (via The Mirror), Howe spoke about Schar’s head injury: “We did a series of tests. I’m not 100 per cent sure on all the facts and how it works, but he did a series of tests with our doctor and we were aware he wouldn’t play [against Manchester City].
“I think I’d welcome it [temporary concussion substitutes] because it’s all about the welfare of the players. Now, I was a player that suffered from concussion several times because as a centre-half, I was on the small side. I was always around an elbow or a head and I think the safety of the players is paramount.”
Less pressure on medical staff
It seems that not a game goes by when Schar doesn’t go down holding his head recently. He’s always putting his noggin on the line for the team. So for players like that who aren’t scared of fully committing to putting their head in dangerous situations, a temporary substitution would be ideal. It means the game can continue with both teams having a full complement of players on the pitch while the injured party can get properly assessed without the medical team feeling so pressured to clear them to return to action to get the game restarted.
It benefits managers, players, medical staff and fans. It’s baffling how this rule wasn’t given at least a trial run, especially considering the outside pressure.
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