Veterans battle to prove brain damage link (original) (raw)

Billy McPhail's headed hat-trick for Celtic against Rangers in the 1957 Scottish League Cup final is commemorated in the terrace song Hampden in the Sun. But 40 years on from that feat McPhail came to believe that his heading prowess had damaged his brain.

He was diagnosed with pre-senile dementia which he blamed on heading leather footballs and died in April 2003 following a lengthy but unsuccessful court battle to claim benefits for what he claimed was an "industrial injury".

Other former players and their families continue to fight for finances to treat illnesses which they claim are caused by heading, but without success.

Glasgow University's researchers have sent a warning to all professional footballers that, despite changes in ball materials over the years, they may face a similar future. The research claims that the difference in effect on the brain of modern footballs compared to older balls is "negligible".

Tommy Cavanagh was a football man to the core. The former Manchester United assistant manager now lies in a hospital bed with his mental state deteriorating rapidly. He and his family attribute his condition to his repeated heading of the ball as a player and coach.

"Unfortunately he missed out on today's big salaries and in his hour of need there is no help whatsoever," said his daughter Deborah. "We have inquired about help with respite care and long-term care and have been given a cold shoulder by the PFA [Professional Footballers' Association]."

Compensation would be paid out if sufficient research were presented to the government to deem brain damage from heading as an industrial injury. But time is running out for many of these former footballers.

Dr Ian Gibson, a former player and MP for Norwich North, believes they should be compensated now. "It's no different to paying veterans for Gulf War Syndrome or asbestos victims," said Gibson, the former chair of the parliamentary and scientific committee.

"There is too little research going on because people currently affected are in the late stage of their lives but we owe them a lot now. Compensation ought to be given.

"In a civilised society we can do better than this. There is already a striking correlation involving former players and Alzheimer's."

The complexity of proving even a "striking correlation" such as this one is great, though. According to the Alzheimer's Society, 50% of cases are caused by genetic defect, which makes it difficult to distinguish between the hereditary version of the disease and damage induced by football.

The closest the victims have come to a breakthrough is the Jeff Astle case. The verdict of November 2002, when an inquest ruled that heading the old, leather footballs caused the former West Brom and England striker's death at 59, was meant to open the floodgates for litigation. But that verdict has so far not set a precedent for other players.

"The big difference with Jeff was that he was younger than normal to have such symptoms," said the PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor. "He was also well-known for his heading and attacking."

The PFA has been inundated with requests for financial help but Taylor claims that paying out in heading-related cases would bankrupt the union.

"The private cost for this kind of treatment is £30,000-£35,000 a year," he said. "For even a thousand former members it would cost us £35m."

Two years have passed since the death of Astle. His wife, Lorraine, has yet to take the legal action she threatened in the aftermath of his death.

"She's not in a position to fund litigation of this sort," said her solicitor Mark Ovington. "You're talking high five- or six-figure sums for litigation on a wing and a prayer."

He believes that, although the Astle case was a landmark, there are many other complications. "The coroner took the medical specialist's word that it was an industrial disease," he said. "The medical specialist stood up and was counted. But to sue, even though causation was proved, it still needs to be proved that this was reasonably foreseeable."

Another difficulty is knowing whom to sue. It could be argued that liability rests with the player's employers, their leagues, the ball manufacturers, the Football Association, Uefa, Fifa or a combination of all.

The former Manchester United manager Tommy Docherty feels that believers in a link between repeated heading of the ball and damage to the brain have their arguments undermined by the number of unaffected players.

"A lot have headed the ball a thousand times and are OK," he said. "They're bright as a button, sharp as a tack. Is it an industrial injury? It is and it isn't."

The FA's response has been to set up a 10-year research study that commenced in 2001-02.

The research programme involves 33 players, from 11 academies, being assessed in years one, five and ten of the programme. "Research of this scope, thoroughness and quality has not been undertaken before in football," said Alan Hodson, the FA's head of medicine and exercise science.

In America this issue has developed further. The recently retired US women's player Joy Fawcett wore a protective headguard during the World Cup and Olympics.

The New York regional soccer association has made it mandatory for players aged 14 and under to wear protective headguards after claiming that 20-25% of football injuries are head-related.

It has proved controversial. The United State Soccer Federation launched a study into the issue and the findings were a blow to campaigners.

"We've been looking at this for well over a decade and concluded that there is no association," said Dr Bert Mandel- baum, the US national team's physician. "This all started with the Norwegian study in 1994 that made everybody raise questions.

"However, we feel that it does not affect the brain. The idea of mandatory headguards is predicated on a fear factor and is also for marketing reasons. That association has signed a company to provide these headguards."

Whether the FA's findings lead to similar measures or the declaration of brain damage from heading as an "industrial disease" remains to be seen. Tommy Cavanagh is still waiting. For men such as Billy McPhail it is already too late.

Case study: Tommy Cavanagh

Tommy Cavanagh has played alongside Tom Finney at Preston North End, worked as assistant manager at Manchester United and been manager at Rosenborg in Norway during a rich and varied career.

He was diagnosed with dementia two years ago and his condition has deteriorated since his admission to hospital in Bridlington. A recent scan showed he had damage to the frontal lobe of the brain and his care costs around £36,000 a year.

Deborah Cavanagh, his daughter, is unhappy that the PFA - which once spent £1.9m on the Lowry painting Going to the Match - cannot do more to help. Her feelings are made more poignant when she reflects on her father's work off the football field.

He was a leading figure in raising the status of coaches in British football through his work at Lilleshall and as a PFA member for 40 years he fought for the right of former players who took a coaching badge to stay within the players' union.

"The PFA says it defines hardship as the possibility of losing one's home due to rent arrears," she said.

"Where does that leave my mother and many like her who have small, modest homes - a three-bedroom bungalow - and now face having to sell it to fund their husband's care?

"In an industry that is obscenely wealthy, where the players now rule - thanks to the campaigning work of the likes of my father - they do not intend to look after their own or their predecessors."