Fabian Schar: Brain injury charity Headway calls for UEFA to launch investigation over Newcastle United defender’s concussion
Headway chief executive Peter McCabe blasts: 'What is it going to take to make football take concussion seriously?'
Brain injury charity Headway has demanded a UEFA investigation after Fabian Schar played the full 90 minutes of Switzerland’s 2-0 win over Georgia, despite being “knocked out for a few seconds” in the first half.
The Newcastle defender was involved in a sickening clash of heads with Georgia’s Jemal Tabidze in the 24th minute as Switzerland got their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign off to a winning start on Saturday.
There was a five-minute stoppage while Schar received treatment from medical staff before completing the rest of the game.
The 27-year-old told Swiss outlet that he was “knocked out for a few seconds” and could not remember the incident. He lay on the ground motionless as players checked to see if he had swallowed his tongue.
Schar will not play a part in Tuesday’s Group D game with Denmark and is suspended for Newcastle’s trip to Arsenal next week.
But in a statement on Monday, Headway expressed its “anger and disbelief" over the incident.
The statement added: "The charity has demanded UEFA launches an investigation into the circumstances that resulted in Swiss player Fabian Schar being cleared to continue playing in a match against Georgia - just minutes after being knocked unconscious and needing emergency help from a member of the opposition."
Headway chief executive Peter McCabe said: "What is it going to take to make football take concussion seriously?
"How many more players will have their careers and, more importantly, their lives and long-term health put at risk by the sport's inability to follow its own protocols?
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"Put simply, the decision to allow Fabian Schar to return to the field of play after suffering a clear concussion was not only incredibly dangerous but also a clear dereliction of duty.
"The player's comments after the match are also deeply disturbing and again show the lack of awareness and understanding among players.
"UEFA must immediately launch an investigation into the incident and explain why their protocols were not followed.”
On Sunday, the Swiss Football Association said: “International Fabian Schar is in good shape on the day after the game of the A national team in Georgia and the clash in a header duel with Jemal Tabidze.
“When the medical team of the Swiss A national team arrived immediately after the clash, (Dr Damian) Meli said he (Schar) was 'awake and oriented'.
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"He was examined according to the 'Sport Concussion Assessment Tool' - no neuropsychological deficits could be detected.
"Therefore, after about five minutes of treatment, the medical team decided to let Schar continue playing. The centre-back could then continue the game without significant problems and play through to the end.
"Since later, more detailed tests after the game concluded no abnormal results, Fabian Schar was able to return to travel with the team back to Switzerland."