McQueen inquest delivers football's latest wake-up call on brain health

A coroner has ruled that repeatedly heading a football likely contributed to the brain injury of former Scotland and Manchester United defender Gordon McQueen, who died aged 70 in June 2023. Coroner Jon Heath confirmed what Gordon McQueen already suspected. Repeatedly heading a football "likely" contributed to the brain injury which was a factor in his death, the inquest in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, concluded on Monday.McQueen – who was capped 30 times for Scotland between 1974 and 1981, and starred for both Manchester United and Leeds during a 16-year career – died of pneumonia, but a combination of vascular dementia and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) were contributing factors. His daughter, Sky Sports presenter Hayley McQueen, told the inquest her father had acknowledged that 'heading a football for all those years probably hasn't helped'. She described how he would return from Manchester United training sessions and lie in darkened rooms with headaches.Concussions were dismissed with players told to "just head back out and play." The McQueen family donated his brain after death to Professor Willie Stewart, the Glasgow-based consultant neuropathologist whose research into head injuries in football and rugby has become definitive. Stewart confirmed the only available evidence pointed to McQueen's "high exposure" to heading a football as the contributing factor. Coroner Heath stated that heading the ball "on the balance of probabilities likely contributed" to McQueen's brain injury and concluded: "The only significant exposure identified was the heading of a football during his professional football career." The inquest heard McQueen's family began noticing personality changes after his 60th birthday when the sociable, outgoing defender became increasingly withdrawn.The FA released a statement extending condolences to the McQueen family and referencing ongoing work on head injury protocols. "There is ongoing scientific and medical research and debate in this area and we continue to work closely with the government, scientific and medical institutions to contribute positively to that debate," the statement read. "This includes our introduction of heading guidance in both the professional and amateur game in England, and the optimisation of our concussion guidance as noted by the coroner during the inquest.We also continue to invest in and support multiple projects in order to gain a greater understanding of this area through objective, robust and thorough research." The Scottish FA's chief executive, Ian Maxwell, paid tribute to McQueen, noting he scored four of his five international goals with his head. "Gordon was a proud ambassador for Scottish football throughout his life," Maxwell said in a statement. "Our thoughts remain with his family at this difficult time."