Neutral Concussion Doctors in BPL

Thibault Courtois (in yellow) is removed from Chelsea's game against
Arsenal after this collision with the knee of Alexis Sanchez (in red).

Head injuries have become a growing concern throughout the sports world. The NFL is becoming more strict on the safety of equipment, helmet-to-helmet hits, and other connections to possible head injuries. Youth sports have seen a growing concern in the topic of concussions as well. The growing concern and awareness for head injuries around the world has sparked new rules and regulations for many sports organizations.

A new rule has been put in place for the 2014-15 season in the Barclay's Premier League for head injuries. A neutral doctor known as a 'tunnel doctor' has been added to every BPL match this season. Normally each team has their own team doctors present at every match, but another doctor has been added specifically to deal with possible head injuries. The tunnel doctor is given the task of conducting a on-the-pitch test for any player that has been in a collision with a possible head injury. This new rule gives the tunnel doctor the final say in whether a player can return after a head injury. The new rule states that even if a player does not lose consciousness, the doctor can prevent them from returning to the match. However, if a player does lose consciousness after a possible head-injuring play, the player is not eligible to return to the game.

This rule was put in place after many controversial head injuries that were left untreated during games in the previous BPL season and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Players from Germany, Uruguay, and Argentina suffered blatantly obvious head injuries, but they were allowed to continue. Kramer of Germany continued to play after a blow to the head, but was later substituted after clear signs of a concussion. Mascherano of Argentina stumbled to the ground in a daze after being kicked in the head, and the player was allowed to continue playing. Alvaro Pereira of Uruguay was left unconscious in his game, and upon awaking he refused to leave the game. Romelu Lukaku of Everton was also left unconscious last season in the BPL after scoring a goal against West Ham. He was allowed to continue, and he later claimed he had no recollection of the goal or events leading up to it. Hugo Lloris was allowed to continue after a serious collision was Romelu Lukaku in a separate game, and both were allowed to continue after showing signs of concussions.

This season the tunnel doctors have been used effectively. A collision between Chelsea goalkeeper Thibault Courtois and an opponent led the doctor to allow Courtois to continue under constant watch by the doctor. Another slight signal of a concussion by Courtois forced the tunnel doctor to halt the game and remove the keeper from the game. Chelsea were forced to substitute in their back-up goalkeeper for the remainder of the match. The new rule seems to be a same change that is not drastically affecting the sport in England. The BPL is definitely taking strides in the right direction for head injuries, and other professional leagues should follow suit.