“As footballers used to playing at the highest level, we are used to pain, we are a bit like soldiers, tough guys, symbols of physical strength, but these are symptoms that are quite invisible. » Raphaël Varane speaks with knowledge of the facts. In an interview with L'Equipe on Tuesday April 2, the Manchester United defender and former French international called for better treatment of concussions, revealing that he himself had suffered them on several occasions.
“When you look at three of the worst matches of my career, there are at least two before which I had a concussion a few days earlier,” he explains, referring to the quarter-final of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil ( 1-0 defeat against Germany) and a Champions League round of 16 second leg, in 2020, with Real Madrid (2-1 defeat against Manchester City).
A few days before the mentioned Blues meeting, Raphaël Varane had suffered a shock in the previous round against Nigeria: “At the start of the second period, there is a cross where I take the ball on one temple, and I finish my race in the nets of the opposing goal. I finish the match but I am in “autopilot” mode. »
“A very competitive environment”
“The staff wondered if I was suitable” before facing the Mannschaft, continues the player, who ended his international career after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. “I was impaired, but ultimately I played and quite well (…) What we will never know is what would have happened if I had suffered an impact on the head. When you know that repeated concussions have a potentially fatal effect, you tell yourself that things can go very wrong. »
However, he analyzes, “we are in a very competitive environment, in which not playing because of a little pain can go badly.”
“We must talk about the dangers linked to second impact syndrome [second trauma suffered before total recovery after the first concussion], and to the repetition of shocks because of head play”, he concludes, calling for these to be limited. in training to reduce risks.
In England, ten former professionals and the families of seven others who are now dead are suing several governing bodies of British football, which they accuse of having "always been perfectly aware" of the risks of brain injuries to which players were exposed, without having taken the necessary measures.
