If a WC player gets hit on the head, the Swede takes the lead.
Mats Borgesson works with FIFA’s new investment in concussion protocol during the tournament.
Mats Borjesson, a cardiologist at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, has done multiple Olympics as well as EC and WC finalists.
It was then mostly linked to the Swedish women’s national football team.
During the World Cup in Qatar, Borisson had another important role.
official in the arena
The doctor is part of FIFA’s investment in players’ health, specifically concussions. In the tournament, he has the main responsibility for the medical team at the WC Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium.
He can have various missions during matches; He can from a place in the stands through the television screens focus on what is happening on the field, if any player is injured and needs a quick examination for the possibility of a concussion, or he can be one of the doctors sitting on the field and be the one who examines the players.
The way it works is completely new within FIFA and therefore also for World Cup tournaments.
FIFA did not allow TT to interview Mats Borgesson. Andrew Massey, FIFA’s chief medical officer, tells the federation’s website:
“A concussion, it’s not like any other injury. It can take up to 72 hours before it manifests itself. We work through ‘suspect and protect,’ so as to help the law doctor make the right decision.”
extra bytes
In the second match of the World Cup, between England and Iran at Khalifa International Stadium, such an event occurred.
Iran’s goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand hit a player, the blow hit his head and he was checked on the field for a long time. Then he was substituted – albeit after returning to the game for only a few minutes.
Then it was considered in the concussion area.
And with the FIFA protocol, another new component of the FIFA World Cup has been activated.
If it is considered that the player has received a concussion or that the blow may lead to him in the future, the team has the right to make another substitution.
Thus, the concussion substitution, which Iran made when Hossein Hosseini replaced Biranvand in the 20th minute, does not count among the five that national teams are normally allowed to perform a maximum of three times during a match.
