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Watford player slapped in face and sprayed with water following potential concussion incident


Noridn Amrabat, 31, took a blow to the head during the Morrocco v Iran game on Friday when he knocked heads with his Iranian counter part Vahid Amiri which resulted in a heavy fall.

Looking unsteady and dazed Amrabat was then squirted with water and then slapped around the face repeatedly by the Moroccan doctor.

Reaction from some of our FMPA members:

“Morocco v Iran. What on earth was the Moroccan medical team doing with one of their players who clearly had concussion? The clinical management of this player was appalling and just goes to show how well players are looked after in the U.K. The Moroccan approach was negligent at best and FIFA needs to standardise pitch side emergency medical care and standardise the expertise all medical practitioners must have if they are to work at international tournaments such as the World Cup! Shocking!” Paul Godfrey, former Head of Medical Services, Cardiff City.

“Excellent planning by the FA to maximise their chances of picking up potential concussions of England players during the World Cup. However, unless there are significant rule changes by FIFA to allow assessments to be made without penalising the team with the injured player then this will only heap additional pressure on the clinicians who are doing their very best to protect their athletes. Here’s a question for anyone who saw the matches this weekend: Was Silva concussed in the 39th min v Switzerland match..? Was Tapia concussed when he was struck against Denmark in the 73rd min..? The mechanism and subsequent responses of the players would suggest it’s possible – especially with Tapia. Both played on. No comment has as yet been made about either in the media. Both may be fine. Both may have concussion. What’s my point? It is simply this: concussion diagnosis can be unforgivably easy i.e. Pereira of Uruguay 2014 and Amrabat of Morocco 2018..but it can also be very difficult. Giving doctors video evidence to try to spot the subtle cases is definitely a step in the right direction and I applaud The FA and Drs Chakraverty and Hanson for implementing this. FIFA, however must simply do more to introduce change that allows proper assessment without penalty.” Jonny Gordon, Emergency medicine consultant, UEFA medical adviser, Scottish FA first team doctor and co-founder of Promote Medical

“As much as the head injury treatment in this case was awful, not all countries have the same high standard of care that we do in the UK. The Premier League, the FA and English Football League along with the Football Medical Association have worked hard over the past few years to improve head injury management” Nick Worth, Consultant & ESP Physio