Fifa defends Chelsea over handling of Courtois injury

Posted Friday, October 10, 2014 by Goal.com

Michel D'Hooghe, in charge of the governing body's medical team which has recommended better monitoring of players with suspected concussions, backs the Blues' conduct on Sunday

Fifa's medical chief Michel D'Hooghe says that Chelsea "took the right decision" with Thibaut Courtois after he suffered a potentially concussive blow in Sunday's Premier League match against Arsenal.

Courtois clashed with Alexis Sanchez early in the match at Stamford Bridge and, after an examination by Chelsea first-team doctor Eva Carneiro, the Belgian was permitted to continue.

The goalkeeper was later substituted due to the injury, replaced by Petr Cech some 15 minutes following the initial blow.

Chelsea have faced criticism of their handling of the situation in light of the Football Association's new concussion protocol as well as Fifa's ongoing reformation of the head injury process.

D'Hooghe, who heads up the Fifa medical team which recently set forth new regulations that call for a three-minute assessment of any player suspected of having suffered potentially concussive blows, believes that Chelsea and Carneiro acted properly in their treatment of the Belgium No.1.

"I think sincerely that the team doctor did the correct examination," he said at the Leaders Sports Business Summit at Stamford Bridge. "She came to the conclusion that he could go on but she kept an eye on him.

"And from the moment that he didn't feel well, they took again the right decision to take him off.

"That can happen in the case of concussions. In the beginning, people can go on but the symptoms increase after some minutes."

Five potentially concussive blows at the World Cup, including one in the final on Germany's Christoph Kramer, prompted D'Hooghe to update Fifa's head injury protocol. The new regulations are now in effect in all of Fifa's 13 World Cup competitions, covering qualification matches and finals tournaments.

"[Courtois] is exactly the same as what happened in the final of the World Cup in Brazil with the German player Kramer, who had a concussion, who was correctly examined during the game," he observed.

"He may continue, he played 15 minutes perfectly well without any problem and, after 15 minutes, he didn't feel well [and] was immediately taken away from the field for further examination. I think this is correct."