Do Goalkeepers need to be protected even more?

By: Bob | October 17th, 2006

In the wake of the head injuries sustained by Chelsea’s top two keepers this past weekend and the news that one of them, Peter Cech, might be lost for the entire year, there is suddenly a debate brewing about what, if anything, can be done to prevent goalkeepers from sustaining such dangerous injuries in the future.

I find this to be an interesting debate. On the one hand injuries are part of sports and part of the game. Football is a contact sport and since the beginning of time players have been injured. Severe injuries are not limited to just goalkeepers and although there might seem to be a rash of head injuries occurring to the men between the posts, I really wonder if this is historically any different than what has occurred over the past 20, 40 or 60 years.

On the other hand, it is truly disheartening to see Peter Cech or any player end up in the hospital not too far from death. The fact is that the goalkeeping position is different than the other ten on the field and it leaves the players who play it vulnerable to injuries that might not occur to field players.

So what can be done?

There is one line of argument that the rules need to be tweaked so that goalkeepers are further protected. But even with tighter rules and a no contact policy or something of that nature, would the Cech injury have still occurred? Probably. Stephen Hunt was playing the ball and Cech’s head happened to get in the way. I don’t see how any sort of rules short of putting a no touch zone around the keeper could have prevented it from happening. Punishing Hunt after the play with a card or suspension might act as a deterrent for future infractions, but that hasn’t exactly prevented other forms of illegal play like Ben Thatcher’s elbow earlier this year.

The other suggestion that has been made is the keepers should wear protective head gear. Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers Association, has said:

“But I do understand the particular concerns regarding head injuries and I would understand if goalkeepers wanted to start wearing protective head gear.

“It is possible something like that could come into the game. They never wore helmets in cricket at one time, only caps, but the authorities looked at what could be done to improve safety after a number of serious injuries and horse racing did, too. Now you have jockeys wearing protective body clothing as well as safer head gear. If it is put forward that goalkeepers should have protective head gear too, then I think people in football would have a responsibility to consider it.”

This makes a bit of sense, but I wonder if head gear is really the answer. It probably would have protected Cech from being as injured as severely as he was, but at the same time would the extra protection give the impression that contact with keepers is okay because they are protected? Would this lead to an increase in injuries to body parts other than the head? It is hard to say.

In the end, I think that unless a true tragedy occurs and someone dies, it will be unlikely that significant changes will be made. Keepers will continue getting hurt and rules will continue to be tweaked in an effort to protect them. Some new equipment might be introduced eventually, but short of changing the sport entirely injuries will simply always be a part of the game.

What do you think? Do the keepers need to be protected more, and if so, how can it be done?