Riley Dash

This is an article than I had written for the Badger

By Riley Dash

Two months have passed since the tragic passing of Billy Vigar, and the world of football is still mourning the tragic event. The wall at Wingate and Finchley has since been demolished. Many tributes were made with Arsenal describing the player as “quick, powerful and fiercely determined”. However, it is the aftermath of the incident which I wish to discuss today, and the potential effects it could have on football.

Coroner inquest:

There has since been an inquest into his passing with the coroner warning the family that it will ‘not be a short process’ the inquest is not only looking at the wider club and the infrastructure, but also looking at the contact between the two players involved. 

Of course, the event itself remains a tragedy, and it is the correct thing for them to be an inquest into how the event happened. This being done through looking at the infrastructure itself is the perfect way of ensuring that an event like this will never happen again. 

In my opinion this can be done without looking at the collision between the two players  The chief coroner in this case stating, “What I would like the investigation to cover is the nature of the contact between the two players involved.” Now this in my opinion, could raise questions about the sport and the future of football in the 21^st century.

Future of football:

Now I raise the issue of the coroner’s enquiry due to its discussion over the contact between the two players. Despite the tragedy of the issue, it is my opinion  it is unfair to apportion any blame to the player involved. Football is a contact sport and at its root collisions happen. If we are going to blame the player, I fear what this will mean for the game. Collisions would become less and less common. With football moving away from being a contact sport. I believe that  attempting to blame the player The FA could be attempting to shift some responsibility, I believe this collision is due to the concrete border around the ground. Collisions happen all of the time, the reason for tragedy isn’t because of the collision, If the ground was truly safe this would not happen. 

In an era of football, marred by VAR controversy and tight offsides. If we start limiting collisions I do truly fear for the game and what it will become. This off the back of managers such as Enzo Maresca and Ruben Amorim speaking out against ownership which potentially played a part in them parting their respective clubs (Chelsea and Manchester United) this Raises severe questions around the future of football and what happens to the game, and we could be approaching a point in which managers are ‘puppets’ for owners saying what they want them to say.

In light of the change in management of Chelsea, with Strasbourg being poached of their manager (Liam Rosenior) which can be attributed to a dodgy multi-club ownership model involving the Ligue 1 side and Chelsea. Additionally, Crystal Palace were kicked out of the Europa League due to their owner having partial shares in another club. Yet something like this can go ahead and no-one bats an eye

If this coroner report comes back and pins some of the blame on the player involved, I believe it will set an awful precedent for football. In my opinion it would be the final nail in the coffin showing how the game has truly changed for the worse. Players are subject to abuse at a ridiculous level, imagine if we are truly blaming players for collisions how much this would increase. 

Billy Vigar’s death was and still remains a tragedy which should never happen again. However, the solution is not blaming the player, who likely suffers trauma from the event. If the player is Blamed however, I truly fear for the beautiful game.