I got dementia because of heading...Former national soccer team captain's industrial action suit
Sep 25, 2025
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According to the British media Daily Mail, Watson played 65 games for England as a center back for 20 years, and in three of them, he wore the captain's armband. He has played in EPL such as Sunderland, Manchester City, and Stoke City, and is currently diagnosed with 'Alzheimer's estimation' and 'CTE estimation'.
His wife Penny Watson, 75, claims her husband's illness is the result of numerous headers and clashes.
However, the UK Department of Health and Human Services did not acknowledge this.
Watson appealed, and his legal representative refuted that he had a record of 10 head injuries during his career, which could be seen as an `accident during the occupation.'
Nevertheless, the first trial court did not recognize the accidents as industrial accidents, saying that it is difficult to say that they caused direct cognitive loss.
Watson will appeal to the higher court next month.
"He was always proud of his achievements in football, but the reality is that the game he loved left him with a deadly disease," his wife Penny Watson said. "What's important now is that his injury is recognized as a real accident and treated fairly. I hope other families in the same situation will be taken seriously."
A spokesman for the Department of Health said "We cannot comment on individual cases"The Industrial Accident Advisory Committee is reviewing the association between neurodegenerative diseases and professional sports, and will consider the relevant recommendations."
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
