Football: “It can go very wrong”, French world champion Raphaël Varane calls for better treatment of concussions in football

Raphael Varane a été victime de commotions cérébrales à de nombreuses reprises dans sa carrière.ses dans MAXPPP – Adam Davy

Le défenseur de Manchester United et ancien international français Raphaël Varane appelle mardi à une meilleure prise en charge des commotions cérébrales dans le football, révélant en avoir lui-même subi à plusieurs reprises pendant sa carrière.

"When you look at three of the worst matches of my career, there are at least two before which I had suffered a concussion a few days earlier& ;quot;, declared Raphaël Varane in an interview given to the Team this Tuesday, discussing the quarter-final of the 2014 World Cup with France (defeat 1 -0 against Germany) and a Champions League round of 16 second leg in 2020 with Real Madrid (2-1 defeat against Manchester City).

A necessary awareness

A few days before the Blues match that he cites, Varane suffered a shock during the round of 16 against Nigeria: "At the start of the second period, there is a cross where I take the ball on one temple, and I finish my race in the net of the opponent's goal. I finish the match but I'm in 'autopilot' mode."

When you know that repeated concussions have potentially a fatal effect, you tell yourself that things can go very wrong

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"The staff wondered if I was fit" before the match against the & rsquo;Germany, pursues the player who ended his international career after the 2022 World Cup."I’was diminished, but ultimately I played and pretty well […]. What we will never know is what would have happened if I had suffered an impact to the head. When you know that repeated concussions have a potentially fatal effect, you tell yourself that things could go very wrong".

These are symptoms that are quite invisible

"As footballers used to playing at the highest level, we are used to pain, we are a bit like soldiers, tough and tough, symbols of physical strength, but these are symptoms which are quite invisible", he analyzes.

"We are in a very competitive environment, in which not playing because of a little pain can go badly". "We must talk about the dangers linked to second impact syndrome (second trauma suffered before total recovery after the first concussion), and to the repetition of shocks due to head play&quot ;, concludes the player, also calling for limiting headers in training to reduce the risks.

In England, 10 former professional players and the families of seven others who are now deceased are suing several governing bodies of British football, whom they accuse of having < em>"always been perfectly aware" of the risks of concussions and brain injuries to which the players were exposed, without having taken the necessary measures.