Robin Koch played for almost 20 minutes LeedsUnited further after beating in the game Manchester United (2:4) with his opponent Scott McTominay had collided. In the 12th minute Koch was on the ground with a laceration, then he returned to the game and was only substituted in the 29th minute, apparently dazed.
Continuing to play football with a concussion can, in the worst case, be life-threatening – namely if there is a second blow to the head afterwards. The English Players’ Union”Professional Footballers’ Association” (PFA) said: “The injury to Leeds United’s Robin Koch shows once again that current protocols for concussion in football do not prioritize player safety.” The organization also made demands on the International Football Association Board (IFAB). The IFAB is the body in football that advises and decides the rules.
Players’ union: “We need temporary substitutions”
The PFA spoke out clearly in favor of temporary substitutions. “We keep seeing players with possible brain injuries who are substituted when the symptoms are obviously getting worse.”according to the PFA. “Temporary substitutions would allow the game to resume without one team having to play with a man down. It would also reduce the pressure on players and medical staff to make a quick decision.” The PFA have made it clear to the IFAB that they support the temporary changes, it said.
The German Football Association (DFB) also argues in this direction. The neurologist Claus Reinsberger, member of the medical committee of the DFBsaid the sports show in October that it “would be medically adequate if the team doctors and the teams the possibility to Temporary substitution would have”. A temporary replacement would reduce the time pressure on the doctors. “They would have the option of substituting the player for 10 or 15 minutes, taking them into the dressing room, examining them at leisure and then making the decision: can he come on again or stay out,” says Reinsberger.