Players should have the right to expect they are not being “put at unnecessary or avoidable risk”, the Professional Footballers’ Association has said after the death of the former Arsenal youth player Billy Vigar.
The 21-year-old’s club, Chichester, confirmed on Thursday that the player had died after sustaining a significant brain injury during a match. Vigar collided with a concrete wall during last Saturday’s match at Wingate & Finchley as he tried to keep the ball in play. He was taken to hospital and placed in an induced coma.
The government and the PFA wrote to the chief executives of the Football Association, Premier League, EFL and National League in June 2023 calling on them to adopt a more proactive approach to player safety in this area, after Bath City’s Alex Fletcher fractured his skull after colliding with an advertising board reinforced with concrete blocks in a match in November 2022.
The PFA’s chief executive, Maheta Molango, said on Friday it was vital to ensure “opportunities to make grounds safer for players have not been missed”.
He said: “Clearly there needs to be a formal investigation into the incident that has led to Billy Vigar’s tragic death, and it is right that this is allowed to take place so that the full circumstances can be properly established. All of our thoughts right now are with Billy’s family and friends, and providing whatever support we can to them.
“When the time is right, we will offer any assistance we can as part of any investigation process, specifically information that may be helpful regarding the safety of players in grounds. That includes sharing concerns we have raised previously around incidents where PFA members have been seriously injured in collisions with perimeter walls and fences, such as that involving Alex Fletcher at Bath City.
“All footballers should expect to be safe when they go out to play or train, and to not be put at unnecessary and avoidable risk by factors beyond their control. When we previously highlighted potential safety issues in grounds and stadiums, the sports minister and I wrote to all the football authorities to urge them to be proactive on this and to make sure all their rules and regulations around player safety were fit for purpose.
“Again, whilst it is important that a proper investigation is allowed to conclude, we have to ensure that opportunities to make grounds safer for players have not been missed and that players don’t feel that serious incidents involving their safety are necessary to prompt change.”
The 2023 letter, sent to the FA and the leagues by Molango and the then sports minister, Stuart Andrew, said: “We ask that leagues take a proactive approach in working with clubs to ensure ground risk assessments take place, that clubs engage with players and other parties who may be able to help identify areas of concern within grounds, and that all parties work to put sensible mitigation measures in place where necessary to help improve player safety.”
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In December 2023 a PFA spokesperson told the BBC: “If there was to be another incident involving a player being seriously injured, it clearly won’t be acceptable to look back at what happened to Alex Fletcher and say that lessons weren’t learned.”
The FA said on Thursday it was “devastated” by Vigar’s death: “We send our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, loved ones, and everyone at Chichester City FC at this incredibly difficult time.”
