Premier League, EFL and WSL Review Pitch Perimeters After Billy Vigar's Death
The Premier League, the English Football League (EFL) and the Women's Super League (WSL) are reviewing the areas around their pitches after the death of Billy Vigar, who was 21. BBC Sport reports that the reviews cover the perimeter, meaning the space and barriers that surround a playing area.
Vigar was playing for Chichester City when he collided with a concrete wall that surrounded the pitch. He died five days later from a significant brain injury.
The Football Association (FA) had already acted before this season began. It banned concrete, breeze block and solid brick walls around pitches at National League and Women's National League clubs, the tiers just below the professional game.
The Premier League carried out a survey of its clubs. It asked about the materials used around pitches and how far the run-off area extends, which is the open ground between the playing surface and any barrier. The league has since shared the outcome of the FA's review with its clubs.
The EFL, which runs the three divisions below the Premier League, sent its own survey to clubs at the start of this year. It asked about run-off distances, surfaces, gradients and other trip hazards at every ground. Where a club's perimeter was found to be high risk, the EFL recommended a specific health and safety assessment for that ground.
The WSL and WSL2, the top two women's leagues, bring their own complications. Many of their grounds are also used by men's teams in other leagues, so any change to a perimeter can affect more than one club at the same site.
The police investigation into Vigar's death is still open. A further hearing has been set for 10 February. The Metropolitan Police expects it will take another two to three months before it reaches a conclusion.
For anyone who has stood on the touchline of a local game, the questions in this review are plain ones. How far is it from the pitch to the nearest wall? What is that wall made of? And what happens to a player who runs into it at full speed? Clubs at every level will now be asked to answer them in writing.
