Quote Originally Posted by MacAdder View Post
If true this is incredible. The powers that be have already virtually made it a non-contact sport now they want to take away one of the most fundamental parts of the game.

Yes, there are some sad cases of ex pros who have suffered through heading a ball, our own Keith Pontin, Nobby Stiles to name just a couple, but, without meaning to be disrespectful or make light of theirs and others' situations, what is the actual percentage of footballing people who have suffered from a direct result of playing football? I bet it is miniscule.
There are far more risky professions than footballers. The forces, bomb disposal teams, spies...
To me, as long as people are made aware of the risks when they put a pair of boots on, then it should be their choice to do so and not change the game to suit.

It does make one wonder what is driving this.
Is it insurance people, due to massive claims?
Is it a group of do-gooders intent on changing the game because of a small percentage of incidents?

If this is happening in football then there doesn't look like much of a future for rugby.
How many bumps to the head occur in a game just from tackling?
Touch and pass awaits.
The funny [perhaps ironic is the word] thing about longevity and sport is that professional sports people - ie, those that have been required to train hard and for consistently long periods from their teens into their 30's - are obviously fitter than the average person, yet on average have shorter lives. The heart is no different to an engine. It need constant running, but hammer it into the ground year in year out and it will wear out.