Page defends decision to let Williams play on

2 years ago 21

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Neco Williams left the field after being twice treated on the pitch by Wales' medical staff

Host nation: Qatar Dates: 20 November-18 December Coverage: Live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app. Day-by-day TV listings - Full coverage details

Robert Page has defended the decision to let Neco Williams play on after the full-back suffered a head injury during Wales' World Cup defeat by England.

Williams fell to the floor after blocking Marcus Rashford's 24th-minute shot with the top of his head.

The Nottingham Forest defender continued for another 12 minutes before being replaced.

"Neco took a blow to the head, so there are protocols in place understandably with concussion," said Wales boss Page.

"He passed the initial test. We followed the Fifa guidelines."

After his initial treatment, Williams was assessed for a second time after sitting on the turf at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.

Page said Williams had initially been allowed to continue after passing Fifa's concussion test, but he was eventually replaced by Connor Roberts.

Brain injury charity Headway has criticised the handling of the incident, saying "yet again medics are given no options" and calling for the introduction of a temporary concussion rule.

Luke Griggs, Headway's interim chief executive, said: "This is the second incident at this World Cup where a player's brain health has not been prioritised.

"Medics are being forced to make snap judgements under pressure, which is resulting in players being allowed to stay on the field despite the assumed presence of at least some doubt over potential concussion.

"Fifa and Ifab's refusal to introduce a temporary concussion substitute rule is causing undue risk to players. The rule is supposed to be 'if in doubt, sit it out', not 'play on and see how it goes'.

"The longer Fifa and Ifab refuse to act, the less credibility they will have in any discussions about brain health in football.

"Their complacency when it comes to brain health is frankly shocking, it's time to take control of this situation and look after the players."

Former England captain Alan Shearer called for the introduction of temporary concussion substitutions earlier in this World Cup after a head injury suffered by Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand, while Jermaine Jenas described that incident as "unacceptable".

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