Chris Sutton slams treatment of Robin Koch after incident in Leeds United clash with Manchester United
Chris Sutton blasted the decision to allow Robin Koch to play on with a head injury for Leeds United in their clash with Manchester United.
The German suffered a blow to the head in a collision with Scott McTominay in the first half at Elland Road, noticeably bloodied as he hit the ground, but was allowed to play on after being bandaged up.
He was subsequently forced off as he struggled, looking shaky as he made his way to the sideline, prompting BT Sport pundit Sutton to air his feelings.
Writing on his personal Twitter account the former England striker said: “Football doesn’t care about it’s [sic] players. What needs to happen to a player before the concussion procedure changes?”
The injury was part of a miserable first half for the Whites as goals from Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes goes put the visitors 2-0 up at the break.
Time and time again
Despite authorities talking tough about dealing with head injuries and new measures, including concussion substitutes being introduced, this issue continues to come up.
We repeatedly see players take blows to the head during matches, and are either passed fit to continue, or their own demands to play on are ceded to, before they are later found to have suffered a concussion or they struggle and have to be substituted.
Sutton is right that the gap between the words and the actions of the wider football world is far too large.
The whole attitude is one of being aware that it is something that now has to be taken seriously, without truly believing in it.
Dramatic as it sounds, on the current evidence it will take a player ending up with lasting neurological damage before teams and officials start to respond they way they must.
Of course players and staff want them to play on for the good of the team, and officials may feel reticent to be seen as enforcing a weakening of a team, but risks shouldn’t be taken.
After Marcelo Bielsa made two more substitutions at half-time, the fact that Leeds had not invoked the concussion substitution rule that would have granted them four changes came into greater focus.
Perhaps they were unwilling to do so as it would have drawn more attention to the fact they shouldn’t have let Koch play on in the first place.
Either way it was not a good look for anyone involved during a drenched and miserable half at Elland Road.
In other Leeds United news, a Sky Sports pundit shares what he heard Whites players saying about the injury.