FA warned incident which led to Billy Vigar’s death is ‘ticking time bomb’

The accident which resulted in the death of Billy Vigar is a “ticking time bomb waiting to happen again”, a player involved in a similar incident has warned.

Chichester City player Vigar died last week aged 21 after he collided with a concrete barrier trying to keep a ball in play during a match at Wingate and Finchley on September 20.

The Football Association announced on Friday it would undertake a review of pitch perimeter safety, but Alex Fletcher, who survived a similar collision playing for Bath City in 2022, believes Vigar’s death was “preventable” if the FA had responded to his situation as it has now.

Fletcher, who collided with an advertising board reinforced with concrete blocks, insists urgent action is required.

In June 2023, following Fletcher’s accident, the Professional Footballers’ Association and Stuart Andrew, the then Sports Minister, wrote to the FA, the Premier League, the EFL and the National League calling on them to proactively review pitch perimeter safety.

Fletcher said: “I was expecting to see the kind of statement that the FA have now put out following my incident, with action then to match that, but we never saw it. It’s a ticking time bomb waiting to happen again.

“It couldn’t have been made any more obvious to the FA than to broadcast pictures of me lying in a coma.

“It seems, unfortunately, like (the FA) haven’t been proactive, or reactive actually in the case of my incident, and unfortunately Billy has paid the ultimate price for that.

“I’m just so sure that this is a preventable incident. I feel like need to be the voice for (Billy) to prevent other players from going through similar circumstances.”

Fletcher feels lessons were not learned from his accident, or from the death of Ben Hiscox in 2015. Hiscox died of a brain injury following a collision with a clubhouse which was in close proximity to the pitch at Stoke Gifford. A coroner’s report urged the FA to take action.

In that case, the location of the clubhouse was in breach of the regulations and it is understood the FA worked with the club, who are outside the National League System (NLS) which will be the focus of the new review, to make their ground compliant with regulations.

The FA did not respond directly to Fletcher’s comments but said the review of pitch perimeter safety announced on Friday would look at how the governing body could assist NLS clubs “to identify and implement additional measures at their stadiums that they determine will help to mitigate any potential safety risks”.

The statement pointed out ultimate responsibility for the health and safety of players and spectators in the NLS lies with the clubs and their local authorities.

Fletcher believes no action was taken following his accident because the type of barrier he collided with met NLS ground grading regulations.

He wants thought to be given to the distance of such barriers from the pitch but believes the most important consideration is the material barriers are made of.

Fletcher suggested clubs could ultimately look at installing barriers that break on impact.

Wingate and Finchley said on Sunday they were looking to install rubber safety padding on their barriers and Fletcher believes that could be a good interim solution other clubs could follow. He also believes the FA should make a contribution towards the costs of safety work.

“(Padding) seems logical, but I think that question is for the FA. They are the ones who should be taking ownership and the ownership until now has been non-existent on this issue,” he said.

“But it doesn’t take a genius to work out that if you’ve got that kind of material that’s designed to withstand or cushion some of the impact, then it’s probably going to go some way to reducing the force of any injuries.”

Fletcher, whose injuries ultimately forced him to retire in 2024, says he has even “lost passion” for attending football. He now works with the PFA’s brain health department.

The PFA released a new statement on Monday saying Vigar’s death had to be the catalyst for “real change”.

“All of this should have happened after the incident involving Alex Fletcher nearly three years ago, when Alex nearly died after a collision with a concrete perimeter wall during a game,” the union said.

“After that incident, the PFA and the Minister of Sport explicitly asked the football authorities to provide leadership by giving better safety guidance to clubs, working with players to identify issues at grounds and putting in place measures to improve player safety.

“We said at the time that it wouldn’t be acceptable for another serious incident to happen involving a player and to look back and see that lessons had not been learned.

“Incidents such as that involving Alex are not ‘freak events’ when everyone can see the danger. There can be no excuses, and immediate steps must now be taken to make grounds and stadiums safe for players.”