August 29 – An unusual lawsuit has been filed against FIFA from a group of parents and players in the United States concerned about how football’s world governing body handles concussion treatment.
Filed in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, the suit also names American organisations such as U.S. Soccer and the American Youth Soccer Organisation, charging that they and FIFA have been negligent in monitoring and treating head injuries.
The plaintiffs do not seek financial damages but ask for changes to the sport’s rules, such as limiting headers for children.
“There is an epidemic of concussion injuries in soccer at all levels around the world, including in the United States, from youth to professionals, from elite players to children playing for the first time, women and men, girls and boys,” the file reads. “FIFA presides over this epidemic and is one of its primary causes.”
The National Football League, the National Hockey League and the National Collegiate Athletic Association are all currently involved in head injury litigation and the latest suit seeks an injunction that would change the way football is played at all levels.
Under the proposed new rules, children under 17 would be limited in how many times they could head the ball while professional leagues would allow for temporary substitutions when injured players are examined for concussion.
According to the filing, nearly 50,000 high school soccer players sustained concussions in 2010 – more than in baseball, basketball, softball and wrestling combined.
FIFA and the other defendants have 60 days to respond to the filed complaint, after which a judge will decide if the case may go forward.
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