There has been a disturbing discovery during the inquest into the death of former Manchester United player Gordon McQueen.
United career
The centre-back played 184 times for Manchester United between 1978 and 1985.
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He also played for Leeds United and represented Scotland on 30 occasions.
Death
McQueen sadly died from complications caused by a combination of vascular dementia and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) at his home on 15 June 2023, at the age of just 70.
Inquest
The Athletic report that, “an inquest has heard that repeatedly heading a football ‘likely’ contributed to the brain disease which played a part in the death of Gordon McQueen.”
Senior coroner Jonathan Heath told the BBC that, “I have found that Mr McQueen suffered repetitive head impacts during his career. I am satisfied that on the balance of probability that repeatedly heading footballs contributed to his developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).”
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He continued, “the combination of CTE and vascular dementia led to pneumonia. I find the cause of death pneumonia, vascular dementia and CTE. It is likely that repetitive head impacts, sustained by heading the ball while playing football, contributed to CTE.”
Before his death, McQueen had approved the study of his brain by Professor Willie Stewart, a consultant neuropathologist at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
Stewart has led extensive research into the connection between football and brain disease.
Other cases
Manchester United legends Bobby Charlton and Nobby Stiles also had to deal with dementia during the end of their lives, and statistics show that former footballers are four times more likely to develop the disease than the general population.
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As a result of numerous findings, the FA advises that no children under the age of 12 should practise heading in training.
Moreover, “The PFA and Premier League launched their own brain health fund in 2023, making an initial £1 million available to help former players and their families when found to be suffering from dementia and neurodegenerative conditions.”
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