Town and England legend Terry Butcher has called for heading to phased out of football with research continuing to show that footballers are far more likely to die of dementia than the wider population.

Former centre-half Butcher, 62, told The Sports Desk podcast heading is “something we can do without” and that “eventually I want to see football with no heading”.

Recently, the FA recommended that only professional players are limited to “10 higher-force headers” in any training week to protect their welfare, while it has been banned completely for U11s and restricted for other age groups.

Reflecting on his own time as a player, having famously ended England's game against Sweden in 1989 with blood from a head wound drenching his shirt, Butcher said: “The doctor had to be very quick to get the stitches in and get you back on the pitch as soon as possible.

“People obviously just saw the games, they didn't see the training. Heading was an integral part of the training session. Every week, just trying to clear lines, defending crosses.”

Butcher, who last season coached Town’s U23s alongside Kieron Dyer, says heading is something which is now less frequent than it once was in British football.

“I think it is something that has been strong, particularly in Britain with the way that we used to play, but not so much now,” he said. “I think it's something that we can do without.

“It would rule out the trauma of heading a football particularly at pace - brain trauma, because your brain is going to rattle against your skull. You're looking at aerial collisions where you know you have no real control.

“I don't think that people actually realise the importance of this and realise that there's something in football that can be catastrophic for players in the future.

“The tackles now are really watered down from what they were in my era because of the risk of a red card. Heading can adapt as well. I think the fans just love seeing good football being played.”

He added: ”We've seen pictures of a lot of the footballers of past generations where they've got dementia and Alzheimer's and it breaks your heart.

“The family are the ones that will really suffer and friends as well because it's not a nice thing to happen and it's not a nice thing to witness.

“I think what the [Jeff] Astle family and the [Nobby] Stiles family is looking for is the organisations - FIFA, UEFA, especially the Football Association - to look after the families that are suffering now.”

In a statement in response, the FA said it had “helped to lead the way in ground-breaking research”.

The organisation added: ”Alongside the PFA, we have issued a call for research for new independent evidence-based research into the increased risk of death from neurodegenerative disorders in former professional footballers, focusing primarily on what causes the increased risk.

“We have made changes to the way the game is played in England. This includes issuing heading guidance across every level of the English football pyramid.

“We are also supporting the trial of concussion substitutes across the Emirates FA Cup, Barclays FA Women's Super League and FA Women's Championship.

“Collaboration across football's governing bodies is key in order to better understand this important issue collectively, and we firmly believe that all areas of football should come together for this meaningful cause.”

Photo: Matchday Images

bobble added 13:18 - Oct 1 well said
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Osbourne_One_Nil added 13:21 - Oct 1 Going to make that Beattie statue puzzling to future generations of fans ...
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cressi added 13:27 - Oct 1 Sorry Butch I can't agree with that in days gone by the game was played with a ball that absorbed water and the game was often up in the air, now the ball weighs nothing Game played mainly on the floor. Where does it stop rugby no scrums Boxing no punching medically all sports are safer than ever .Feel very sorry for the Astle family but this is not 1970.
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 13:55 - Oct 1 I usually used to chicken out of heading the ball by playing on the wing for my local village team, so I see the point. But to ban heading totally would completely change the nature of the game. Maybe some compromise can be found.
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Cakeman added 13:58 - Oct 1 Fully agree Terry.
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BlueRuin69 added 14:16 - Oct 1 Hmmmm.....no dont agree. Limit heading in training maybe but football without heading no thanks. But in PC, woke Britain who knows.
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FrankMarshall added 14:29 - Oct 1 It would need to be a world ban with organisations like FIFA, UEFA, the FA all in agreement to it. Will that happen? Who knows.
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chepstowblue added 14:41 - Oct 1 No no. Absolutely not. As sad as a football related health problem is, the laws surely cannot be changed because one in every 75,000 players may be affected in later life. These balls are like balloons nowadays. It's a well meaning concept, but I can help but despair at the world!
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Barty added 15:04 - Oct 1 Sorry Terry but cant agree with you on that . Heading is an important part of our great game
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masetheace added 15:32 - Oct 1 Wow ! So where do we draw the line - no punching in boxing , tackling in rugby , falling off a horse in racing etc. Allow everyone as an individual to enjoy sport as they wish . No one is twisting arms to make anyone play the sports they enjoy
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naa added 15:46 - Oct 1 BlueRuin69: I know it's cool to use "woke" as an insult these days (even though it really just means that people consider the feelings of others, which should never be an insult), but how on earth is stopping people from dying young of dementia being "woke"? I'd hardly call Terry Butcher a classic example of woke would you? I'm not sure banning heading is workable but let's not put this important discussion in the gutter from the start eh?

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Linkboy13 added 15:46 - Oct 1 I think it is easy too say ban heading in football when you have retired from the game. The players have a choice whether they want to head the ball or not at the moment. It's a part of our game and banning it is never going to happen. I think the way forward is to have players checked regularly. I know this is not practical for players at a lower level but as i said they know the risks now they have to make up their own minds.

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Blue_Again added 16:10 - Oct 1 What a load of rubbish. Life cannot be made risk free at the cost of everything exciting being banned. If we go down that road then boxing has no future and that would be tragic. The world has gone soft
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naa added 16:12 - Oct 1 Linkboy13: "The players have a choice whether they want to head the ball or not at the moment" isn't really true for any defender or really and striker is it? Some wingers get away without heading, but that's about it. Any player choosing not to head isn't likely to have much of a career I'd suggest. However, I do agree that I can't see how we can ban it. It would essentially make wing play impossible, as the keeper would grab every cross coming in. But then people thought banning the backpass was unworkable and that worked out pretty well in the end.

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BlueRuin69 added 17:35 - Oct 1 Naa...stop being woke...
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Tufty added 18:52 - Oct 1 I have witnessed a pro footballer die from brain damage caused by heading the ball. It is not something I would recommend. Limit heading the ball to the 18 yard box this would greatly reduce the number of head impacts and actually increase excitement defenders dealing with long clearances would be a real challenge giving the forward an advantage quite possibly giving higher scoring games but protecting the players. Those against a ban are playing Russian roulette with the lives of young men, perhaps they would like to cross the A14 at rush hour blindfolded. Thought not.

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itfchorry added 19:43 - Oct 1 Not with you on this one Terry ! What next no head banging to Iron Maiden - Town Legend
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Westy added 22:26 - Oct 1 So much respect for Terry 'blue blood' Butcher, but I have to disagree. Everything has a risk. Are we to make football a non-contact sport and one where height is not an advantage? The game was stopped on Tuesday night when a Doncaster player was hit on the head by the ball from a volley by Wes Burns so nobody is safe. Play the ball on the deck all the time and get more broken? Are goalkeepers to be banned from diving in case they hit there head against the post? Peta Cech, the former Chelsea goalkeeper had a depressed fracture of the scull following a collision with a strikers knee when sliding on the ground which is why he had to where head protection for the rest of his career. As has been said, footballs of old were hard waterlogged leather. Sport is safer than ever with trained medical staff and doctors in attendance and player welfare is paramount.

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Beattiesballbag added 22:30 - Oct 1 Maradona didn't need to head the ball...........
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BlueRuin69 added 09:55 - Oct 2 No but Beattie did 😎
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Cloddyseedbed added 11:44 - Oct 3 Would be a bit like boxing without the punches. Don't agree with no heading. Older players used different balls to the ones now in use. Older balls were laced up leather balls, as heavy as hell and doubled in weight when it was wet.
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chorltonskylineblue added 13:07 - Oct 4 The weight of the modern ball doesn't make it less of a risk. A lighter ball increases the speed. Studies have shown that faster impact has a greater effect than the weight of the ball - see for example: https://www.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/4673/faster_footballs_result_in_harder_head I know it's hard for us fans to even consider the idea that heading would disappear from the game, but we're not putting our future welfare on the line. I've experienced dementia of a family member and it truly a horrible disease. It doesn't matter how much money an athlete gets paid, it wouldn't compensate for the suffering. Chepstowblue says 1 in 75,000 players affected. I don't know where those figures come from. The Alzheimer's Society quotes a University of Glasgow study saying 386 of 7,876 players affected by a neurodegenerative disease, 3.5 times more than non-players: https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/career-length-linked-with-increased-dementi

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