Nobby Stiles: heading football contributed to England and United legend's death
England World Cup winner Nobby Stiles’ death was contributed to by a brain condition caused by repeatedly heading a football, a coroner has ruled
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An inquest into the death of England and Manchester United legend Norbert 'Nobby' Stiles has ruled heading a football was likely a contributing factor.
The 1966 World Cup winner died in October 2020, at the age of 78, with expert analysis linking it to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is associated with head traumas.
His family have since campaigned for more to be done to help players cope with injuries picked up in their playing days.
Stiles’s son John has previously said that football had “killed” his father.
Stockport Coroner's Court heard Stiles headed a football around 140,000 times during his career.
Expert analysis of his brain showed his severe dementia was as a result of Alzheimer’s disease but also the condition, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which has been associated with head trauma from heading a ball.
Neuro-pathology expert, Dr Daniel Du Plessis told the court: “I’m quite convinced his heading the football that many times has caused his CTE.”
Alison Mutch, senior coroner for South Manchester, asked Dr Du Plessis: “You are saying repeated heading of the ball is the cause of his CTE?”
“Yes,” Dr Du Plessis replied.
Stiles family campaigning for more support for ex-pros
John Stiles is head of the Football Families for Justice (FFJ) group which is calling on the football authorities to do more after his father was forced to sell his winner’s medals to fund his dementia care.
He is among dozens of former footballers and their families suing the Football Association, the Football Association of Wales and the English Football League over claims they were “negligent and in breach of their duty of care” to the former players.
Lawyers for the former players and their families have previously said football bodies knew or should have known that repeatedly heading a ball in training and during matches was likely to cause brain injuries, and that the risks were known for decades.
In March this year lawyers for The Football Association told the High Court it has “not been established by science” that heading a ball or “occasional” concussion can lead to permanent brain damage.
In January an inquest into the death Gordon McQueen, 70, an ex-Scotland, Manchester United and Leeds United defender, found that heading the ball was “likely” to have contributed to a brain injury which was a factor in his death.
McQueen was also diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
McQueen’s TV presenter daughter Hayley McQueen said England’s 1966 World Cup winning team had now been “pretty much wiped out” by neurodegenerative disease.
The FA co-funded with the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) a 2019 study that found footballers were three-and-a-half times more likely to die of neurodegenerative disease than age-matched members of the general population.
The FA is phasing out all heading in youth football up to under-11s by 2026.