Top athletes divided over head protection in football: “Do something with your image”

Almost every day, Maurits Visser is fully wrapped and protected under the crossbar. The goalkeeper of the Bloemendaal hockey club doesn’t actually know any better. “Goalkeeping without protection would otherwise be life-threatening,” Visser is clear about the danger of his own sport. “It is very different in football, because the risk of accidents is much lower. If you do choose head protection, then all field players should also wear it. I have the feeling that they run just as much risk as the goalkeeper.”

Pushing boundaries

René de Knegt also shares this idea. The goalie of handball club Aalsmeer does not wear head protection and feels safe under the crossbar. “An accident can always happen, but that is also part of the sport. Top sport is not healthy anyway. You push your physical limits to participate in top sport.”

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While De Knegt does not wear head protection, he does have protection for his private parts. “This allows me to move more freely, I don’t worry now if I get a ball in my crotch. However, I can imagine that a goalkeeper in football does not feel completely free, because he or she can come into physical contact come with the opponent. Then head protection could help.” In handball, goalkeepers cannot collide with opponents as the semicircle in front of the goal is off-limits to field players.

In ice hockey, protection is a completely different story. All players are wrapped and protected from head to toe. As a player for Amsterdam Tigers, Calvin Pohlman doesn’t know any better. “In our sport this is very normal and you don’t even think about it. In fact, it is inconceivable that in the past there were players in ice hockey who did not wear head protection. I am one hundred percent in favor of it being mandatory now.”

Karate kick

“The situation of Etienne Vaessen on Saturday evening really hit home for me,” Pohlman looks back on the final phase of RKC – Ajax. “I just wonder whether it is feasible to introduce mandatory head protection in football. I personally think that something needs to be done, and not only for the goalkeepers, but also for the field players. Think back, for example, to that karate kick from Bayern Munich player Thomas Müller against the head of Ajax player Nicolas Tagliafico.”

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“These types of situations and collisions between goalkeepers and players hardly occur,” is Visser’s view of accidents on the football field. “It often happens that players bang their heads together during a head duel. I think that there should first be more research with data on the number of accidents. And I am really in favor of avoiding risks in sport, but you cannot ban everything. I would not make it mandatory.”

De Knegt finds it a difficult dilemma. “It doesn’t take much effort to wear head protection and I don’t think it hinders you. As a goalkeeper, I personally wouldn’t want to wear head protection when playing handball. I have never felt unsafe and it is normal that you occasionally gets a ball in your face.” In handball it is forbidden to throw the ball in the face of the goalkeeper. It even results in a time penalty. “The international handball association does a lot to protect goalkeepers.”

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Image

Then aesthetics still plays a role in this discussion. Football is known as a macho sport and there will undoubtedly be a lot of resistance to having to go on the field with head protection. Footballers are often too vain for that. Pohlman: “If you walk around with such a cover on your head, it does something to your image. At least that’s what I can imagine. It just takes time to introduce head protection. Especially in a major sport like football and where everyone thinks something about it. I would especially encourage the discussion with the players. After all, they have to wear it.”

“There may be a gap in the market,” a laughing De Knegt shares his commercial ideas. “If I had been an entrepreneur, I would have known.” The Aalsmeer goalie recognizes Pohlman’s words. “There is a different culture in football, you cannot easily get out of step. Also look at the issue of homosexuality in sports. In handball it is much easier for someone to come out of the closet than in football. Handball is a smaller sport, which involves much less money. I can imagine that it feels a bit strange when you play with head protection.”