ZURICH — FIFA wants to improve soccer’s concussion protocol by stopping games for three minutes while team doctors assess players with head injuries.
After high-profile incidents of injured players staying on the field at the 2014 World Cup, FIFA said Tuesday its executive committee will confirm a proposal that gives referees new powers to halt play at its two-day meeting starting Thursday. The board includes Belgian doctor Michel D’Hooghe, who chairs the FIFA and UEFA medical committees.
“The incidents at the World Cup have shown that the role of team doctors needs to be reinforced in order to ensure the correct management of potential cases of concussion,” FIFA said in a statement.
UEFA adopted the three-minute break protocol last week and will apply it in UEFA Champions League games from next week.
In the 2014 World Cup final, Germany midfielder Christoph Kramer played on for 14 minutes against Argentina before being substituted when clearly disorientated.
FIFA’s lack of formal rules was highlighted when Uruguay defender Alvaro Pereira ignored his team doctor’s advice to be substituted. Pereira appeared to be briefly unconscious when accidentally struck in the head by an England player’s knee.
The updated protocol gives team doctors more authority.
“The referee will only allow the injured party to continue playing with the authorization of the team doctor, who will have the final decision,” FIFA said.
