Amanda Kopel (Image: Daily Record) The widow of a tragic footballer who died from dementia has backed calls for headers to be banned from the game. Amanda Kopel, who blames her late husband Frank’s death on heading the ball, says the practice should end after the
World Cup in 2030. A study by Glasgow Uni boffin Willie Stewart found ex-footballers were about three-and-a-half times more likely to die of neurodegenerative brain disease. Defenders were five times more likely to have dementia than non-footballers, with experts blaming headers. Frank Kopel, who played for Dundee Utd, Man Utd and Blackburn, died aged 65 in 2014 after a battle with vascular dementia. Read More Related Articles Veteran pundit Archie Macpherson backs
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Scotland a step closer after MSPs declare support Amanda believes his diagnosis was down to him heading the ball thousands of times during and is now backing a ban. She made the call on what would have been her husband’s 75th birthday: “Frankie and I should be celebrating today and looking forward to the rest of our lives together, instead I’ve been grieving his loss and mourning him for 10 years. “Football has to change because the game is a long, slow, certain killer while heading the ball is part of it. “The game is called football not headball and the rules have to change. Nobody should head a ball – particularly children. “Frankie loved the game but we never imagined for a moment it was so damaging. "FIFA and the International Football Association Board have a duty of care to protect the next generation of players, particularly with the Euros about to start.” Frank Kopel was one of the first famous players to die from dementia thought to have been caused by heading the ball (Image: SNS) Amanda is backing the ‘Heading Out’ campaign launched by former STV journalist Mike Edwards. He believes a “line in the sand” should be drawn on headers in six years after the World Cup in
Spain, Portugal and Morocco: “We learn from an early age not to handle the ball, surely we can learn not to head it either. “Scotland has led the way by banning children from heading the ball in training and adult players from heading in the 24 hours before and after a game. “I’d like to see the practice banned altogether after the 2030 World Cup, which I think is a reasonable deadline. Not heading the ball will save players’ lives.” It comes after TV football legend Archie Macpherson backed an international pilot on banning headers. He told the Record last year: “It's a phenomenon that is happening in front of your eyes and nobody seems to be doing anything about it.” “Football being what it is, which is master of the globe compared to any other sport, there are massive commercial interests who do not want it to stop in any way. “Who is going to interfere with football and stand up and say this can't go on? That's what needs to happen. “Sometimes it's difficult to see things through to the end objective. Sometimes it's too distant from us. We're standing on a terracing, we are being entertained, who is not going to go up and head a ball? Who is going to stop it?” Scottish politics Health boards blow millions on taxis
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protests SNP lost thousands of members in 2023 Matheson urged to reject pay-out A separate campaign by Labour MSP Michael Marra is calling for football-related dementia to be treated as an industrial injury. Marra said: “The evidence of head impacts on players’ brain health is clear, compelling and indisputable. “Authoritative research, carried out in Scotland, shows the suffering among former players. The families of players are left carrying the financial burden of care as their loved ones live with dementia. “These are industrial injuries and should be recognised as such by the Scottish Government with the support payments to help these families to go with it. “The Injury Time campaign believes that the game and the government must work together to address the long term challenge the science represents. We have been calling for a working group to be established to ensure we deal with this complex issue to protect both the players and the future of our national game.” Fraser Wishart, chief executive PFA Scotland, said: "Since the research that found that professional footballers are more likely to be diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease, Scottish football has taken positive action, banning heading for under 12s and limiting when heading drills for professionals can take place. "More support for former players living with dementia and their families must be provided and we are playing a key role in supporting the campaign by Michael Marra MSP that former players with a neurodegenerative disease from doing their
Job should be recognised as an industrial injury. "PFA Scotland will continue to work with the experts in this complex area to find solutions and answers. To this end, PFA Scotland currently provides funding to help PREVENT, a research programme testing and following players between the ages of 40 and 59." To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here . Story Saved You can find this story in My Bookmarks. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Follow Daily Record
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