Brain injury charity Headway has called for a UEFA investigation after Newcastle defender Fabian Schar played on for Switzerland at the weekend despite having been knocked unconscious.
Schar was involved in a clash of heads with Georgia's Jemal Tabidze in the first half of Switzerland's 2-0 Euro 2020 qualifying win in Tbilisi on Saturday.
Schar has said he was 'knocked out for a few seconds', and it has been reported that as he lay on the floor Georgia's Jano Ananidze tried to stop the 27-year-old's tongue from blocking his airway.
Schar had around five minutes of treatment from medical staff before completing the duration of the game.
A statement from Headway on Monday said: 'The charity has demanded UEFA launches an investigation into the circumstances that resulted in Swiss player Fabian Schar being cleared to continue playing in a match against Georgia - just minutes after being knocked unconscious and needing emergency help from a member of the opposition.'
Headway chief executive Peter McCabe added: 'What is it going to take to make football take concussion seriously?'
Schar was quoted by Swiss newspaper Blick on Saturday as saying after the match: 'I cannot remember anything.
'I was knocked out for a few seconds. My skull is still buzzing. I also have neck pain and a bump on the forehead. But it was worth it.'
McCabe added: 'How many more players will have their careers and, more importantly, their lives and long-term health put at risk by the sport's inability to follow its own protocols?
'Put simply, the decision to allow Fabian Schar to return to the field of play after suffering a clear concussion was not only incredibly dangerous, but also a clear dereliction of duty.
'The player's comments after the match are also deeply disturbing and again show the lack of awareness and understanding among players.
'UEFA must immediately launch an investigation into the incident and explain why their protocols were not followed.'
Lika Gurchiani
2
georgia is dest and russia is oqupant
oo yes georgia is very good ^_^ :)
simcdinoy
1
georgia is dest and russia is oqupant
simcdinoy
0
LashaBarca
0
Really pity. But I am sure Jemal did not want such bad injury for opponent's player.
Lorenlous
0
Unbelievable. And this happened less than a week after Ospina collapsed on the pitch. Head injuries need to be taken more seriously.
Lorraine
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The players have to take some level of respo sibility and stop faking injuries, then when someone does go down clutching their head then the Ref will immediately grasp the seriousness of the situation!!
Armours
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Any head injury the player should come off it happens in rugby league & rugby yawnion the player's health is more important than anything
runaway
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I think that's disgraceful frm the charity questioning the integrity of the Swiss doctors
jealousyh
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how on earth has this happened?! Why does it take a brain charity to enquire about this, what are UEFA or FIFA doing about it.
Radionicc
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There needs to be some punishment for the officials at the match and the national team staff, there's no way a player who was completely knocked out should've been allowed to play on.
Julylove
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He played on?! Football is only a few years away from an NFL style lawsuit. So weird that they don’t have compulsory procedures like rugby.
Oklahoma
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He played on?! Football is only a few years away from an NFL style lawsuit. So weird that they don’t have compulsory procedures like rugby.
Halehale
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Madness, it will take someone to lose a life before this gets taken seriously!
Thonas
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There were a few incidents during the World Cup as well that show a trend that this is part of. With the concern for head injuries in other sports it's criminally negligent for football to be failing so miserably on that issue.
Assessment
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Continued to play on....! Isn't there a rule in place to protect players from this sort of thing. He should have been subbed and looked at by doctors. Maybe even a CT scan. Absolutely shocking.
Torreses
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He should not have continued playing. Surely the qualified doctors make the final decision, not the player
particles
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If you are knocked out like that, I'm afraid that game is over for you. Ridiculous that they kept him on.
Fedora
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How was he allowed to play on? Football Rules need to take a long hard look at how Rugby deal with potential concussion injuries. Protect the players FFS!
Realplayer
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He should not be allowed to continue playing. So dangerous for him, not worth the risk
Hgame
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If this happened in Rugby there would be uproar. It shouldn’t have been allowed to happen.
loosen
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Great job by the other players. Horrendous effort from medical staff allowing a player to continue after the event.
Humphreyes
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I was absolutely gobsmacked when I saw that he was going to carry on. He was out cold.
Bostons
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Head injured players should be taken off the pitch and replaced.
Jesseshain
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Quite unfortunate
frozenme
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Get well soon mate!
satisfied
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Independent consultants should be on the touchline.
naked
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Absolute disgrace he was allowed to carry on playing
Anthonyer
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Newcastle should demand compensation- they must be furious, why allow players to play internationally if they aren't looked after?
moratorium
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A knocked out player shouldn't be allowed to continue. Crazy decision from management
billiong
0
Ridiculous to let him play on, those drs and physio's are potentially putting his life at risk, they need the same HIA protocols as they do in Rugby Union.
robjet07
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Hope he recovers soon.. He truly is a gem of a player. They should have subbed him off when they realised he had been knocked out for a couple of seconds