Former football and rugby stars brought a ‘£300m’ brain injury compensation case against their sports’ governing bodies on Tuesday
New claimants among the 378 in the group action included 100 former rugby league players, 40 ex-rugby union players and 15 former footballers.
More than 200 ex-rugby players began the legal case last year. They believe that a number of sports bodies were negligent in their attitude towards brain injuries. Legal experts believe the total claim will top £300m as it came to London’s High Court on Tuesday.
Ex-Wales rugby international Alix Popham, 43, said he wanted to protect the stars of today. “This problem is not going anywhere,” he said. “The changes that need to be made are not being made. I trained with contact every day.
“You would have these small hits but as my neurologist said, it is like a leaking tap. If it drips for 14 years, then it is going to create a big hole. If someone has a head injury, they should not rush back to play.”
Alix was diagnosed with early onset dementia in 2020. He knows of three England World Cup players and 15-20 British Lions who have been diagnosed with illnesses linked to blows to the head while playing. Ex-Wales and British and Irish Lions rugby union wing Dafydd James, 47, also has early onset dementia.
He spoke of his ‘daily battle’ with the condition in order to help others. “That’s all I care about at the moment,” he said.
Ex-Man Utd defender Colin Gibson, 62, who lifted the European Cup with Aston Villa in 1982, is one of the 15 footballers bringing the claim. In 2019, he was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s.
He admits that he sometimes goes out in the car only to return home, after forgetting why he set off in the first place.
Richard Boardman of sports legal firm Rylands Garth, which is acting for all the claimants, told the BBC : “There is remarkable consistency of symptoms across all these contact sports and it’s very grim. We ultimately want these sports to survive well into the future, but clearly urgent, immediate changes are needed.”
Stars involved in the claim include former British and Irish Lion and Wales captain Ryan Jones, and England international and World Cup winner Steve Thompson. Wales Rugby Union, the Rugby Football Union and World Rugby - the game’s governing body - said they continue to await the full details of the claims being made against them.
They added in a joint statement: “We care deeply about every member of the rugby family and have been saddened by the brave personal accounts of Dafydd and other former players who are struggling.
“We would want him and his family to know that we care, we listen, and we never stand still when it comes to further cementing rugby as the most progressive sport on athlete welfare.
“Acting on the latest science, evidence and independent expert guidance, we constantly strive to safeguard and support all our players - future, current, and former. Rugby is a leader in the prevention, management and identification of head impacts.
“World Rugby also proactively funds transformational research, embraces innovation and explores technology that can make the sport as accessible, inclusive and safe as possible for all participants.”
