Heading a football “likely” contributed to the brain injury which was a factor in the death of former Scotland defender Gordon McQueen, a coroner has found.
The 70-year-old passed away at his North Yorkshire home in June 2023 after becoming frail and bedridden for several months.
Coroner Jon Heath delivered a narrative conclusion on Monday at the Northallerton inquest, ruling that McQueen died from pneumonia resulting from a combination of vascular dementia and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
He said: “It is likely that repetitive head impacts sustained by heading the ball while playing football contributed to the CTE.”
McQueen earned 30 caps for Scotland between 1974 and 1981 during a 16-year professional career.
His daughter Hayley McQueen, a television presenter, attended court to hear the findings.
During earlier testimony, she revealed that her father had spoken about the potential cause of his dementia, telling her: “He said ‘heading a football for all those years probably hasn’t helped’.”
Ms McQueen told the inquest her father suffered some concussions throughout his career, though he was relatively free from serious injuries.
Heading a football ‘likely’ contributed to the brain injury which was a factor in the death of former Scotland defender Gordon McQueen, a coroner has found
|
GETTY
She noted that players of his era would simply return to the pitch after such incidents, adding: “They would just head back out and play.”
He also recalled childhood memories of her father returning from Manchester United training sessions and retreating to a darkened room, suffering from headaches.
The family first observed personality changes after his 60th birthday, with the previously sociable and outgoing McQueen becoming increasingly withdrawn.
Despite playing as a central defender, McQueen built a reputation for scoring from set-pieces, typically with his head.
The 70-year-old passed away at his North Yorkshire home in June 2023
|
GETTY
His career in England began when he moved from St Mirren to Leeds United in 1972, where he helped secure the league championship in 1973-74 and featured prominently in their journey to the 1975 European Cup final.
A transfer to bitter rivals Manchester United followed in 1978, and he collected an FA Cup winner’s medal five years later.
On the international stage, an injury denied him the chance to appear at the 1978 World Cup despite his selection for the Scotland squad. His first senior cap had come four years earlier against Belgium.
Following retirement, McQueen managed Airdrie briefly and coached at St Mirren before spending five years as part of Bryan Robson’s staff at Middlesbrough until 2001.
McQueen managed Airdrie briefly and coached at St Mirren
|
GETTY
He subsequently worked as a pundit for Scottish television and Sky Sports.
Following McQueen’s death, his family donated his brain for research to Professor Willie Stewart, a consultant neuropathologist based at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow who has undertaken extensive studies into brain injuries among footballers and rugby players.
Prof Stewart’s examination revealed evidence of both CTE, a brain disorder associated with repeated head trauma, and vascular dementia.
When questioned by Michael Rawlinson KC, representing the McQueen family, the professor confirmed that the CTE had contributed to the death “more than minimally, negligibly or trivially” and that heading the ball had contributed to the condition.
Prof Stewart stated that the sole available evidence pointed to McQueen’s “high exposure” to heading a football throughout his playing days.
Gordon McQueen’s daughter Hayley said after the hearing: “It should have been a turning point many, many years ago when we learnt the same thing with Jeff Astle and not much has happened between that time and now.
“Hopefully, my dad’s legacy will not just be what he gave football on the pitch but what we can learn from this and make sure that this really real, horrible problem isn’t a problem for future generations.
“They need the help from the footballing authorities, but there also needs to be changes too – potential legislation and just education.”
