Should heading play be regulated in football? The results of a survey published this Tuesday, in Wales, could well revive the debate. A former Welsh football player, Keith Pontin, has died of dementia caused by repeated head trauma during his career, according to the findings made public.
Pontin, a former Cardiff defender between 1976 and 1983 and selected twice with Wales, was diagnosed with early dementia in 2015, at the age of 59. He died in August 2020, aged 64.
Pontypridd Criminal Court in Wales said a post-mortem examination carried out on Pontin found the cause of death to be chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
According to medical examiner David Regan, “Keith Pontin died of chronic traumatic encephalopathy caused by repeated head shocks suffered when he was a professional football player”.
A concussion at the age of 18
A list of injuries suffered by Pontin throughout his career was read to the court. The player had notably suffered a concussion at the age of 18.
Willie Stewart, a neuropathology consultant from Glasgow, who examined Pontin’s brain tissue and was interviewed during the inquest, also concluded that “the dominant pathology was that of a chronic traumatic encephalopathy”.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a degenerative brain disease believed to be caused by repeated blows to the head and episodes of concussion. The symptoms of ETC affect the functioning of the brain and eventually lead to dementia.
Previous studies by Willie Stewart have shown that former professional football players are 3.5 times more likely to die from neurodegenerative diseases than the general population. The latter, however, considers that there is no “no evidence yet to suggest that changes in modern gaming have altered risk.”
Several members of England’s 1966 world champion squad, including Jack Charlton and Nobby Stiles, suffered from dementia at the time of their deaths.
