FIFA Medical Committee Chair Michel D’Hooghe wants to allow referees to "stop matches for three minutes" to assess head injuries when a concussion is suspected, according to Rob Harris of the AP. Football leaders have been "under pressure to better protect players after there were five concussion cases at the World Cup in Brazil, including several where the player tried to stay on the field." A lawsuit is also being brought in the U.S. "chiding FIFA's guidelines for players who receive serious head injuries." D'Hooghe will seek the approval of the UEFA and FIFA exec committees later this month for "strict rules" that go "beyond the existing medical guidance." D'Hooghe: "The trigger is that nowadays the player has a concussion, the team doctor arrives there and he has to take a decision in 20 seconds -- this is materially impossible in some situations. ... We want to give him a new authority because what we have seen at the World Cup for instance, the moment a team doctor asks for a replacement, suddenly the player jumps up and says, 'No, no,' and of course the coach says, 'Go on.'" D'Hooghe said that doctors rather than coaches "should decide whether the player can remain on the pitch" (AP, 9/9).
