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FA Denies Heading Duty; Coroner Labels Brain Damage Industrial Disease

5/1/2026

Summary

Story summary

John Stiles accused the FA of rejecting the link between heading and brain injuries after his group leaked a 41-page High Court defence denying duty of care.
A coroner ruled in January that heading likely contributed to Gordon McQueen’s brain disease and called Alan Jarvis’s 2019 death “industrial disease.”
The FA said it has not confirmed the defence, maintains heading’s impact remains under research, and highlighted heading guidelines and funded brain-health research.

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Story summary

John Stiles accused the FA of rejecting the link between heading and brain injuries after his group leaked a 41-page High Court defence denying duty of care.
A coroner ruled in January that heading likely contributed to Gordon McQueen’s brain disease and called Alan Jarvis’s 2019 death “industrial disease.”
The FA said it has not confirmed the defence, maintains heading’s impact remains under research, and highlighted heading guidelines and funded brain-health research.