- Published
"You swing from sadness to anger because you just feel it could have been prevented."
That is the view of Camilla Vigar, whose son Billy, a former Arsenal academy player, died a year ago today from a "significant brain injury", five days after colliding with a concrete wall surrounding a pitch.
uncertain
That → publish → pitch
The 21-year-old striker was playing for Chichester City at Wingate and Finchley FC in north London.
asserted
striker → play → London
In their first broadcast interview since their son's passing, the Vigar family accuse the Football Association of doing "nothing" after previous similar incidents.
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family → accuse → incidents
"[Billy] had his whole life ahead of him.
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Billy → have → him
He was 21 years old and he lost it playing football when he didn't need to," she told BBC Sport.
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she → lose → Sport
"I personally feel that the FA could have stopped Billy losing his life because they had so many warnings."
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they → feel → warnings
They give the example of amateur footballer Ben Hiscox, who died in 2015 after colliding with a clubhouse near Bristol.
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who → give → Bristol
After the coroner warned the FA about the risk of future deaths, padding was added to Stoke Gifford United's clubhouse and the run-off between it and the pitch was increased.
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off → warn → it
The Vigars also point to the life-changing injuries sustained by Alex Fletcher in 2022.
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Vigars → point → 2022
Fletcher fractured his skull when colliding with concrete barriers next to the pitch at Bath City's ground, and was forced to retire in 2024.
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Fletcher → fracture → 2024
The FA conducted a review of clubs after that incident.
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FA → conduct → incident
"As far as I'm aware, nothing was done with that information and it just sat there.
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it → do → information
One of the clubs as far as I'm aware that was highlighted as being one of the high-risk clubs was Wingate [and Finchley], where Billy then lost his life," said Camilla Vigar.
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Vigar → highlight → life
When asked by the BBC what was done with the information it had gathered, the FA provided no comment.
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FA → ask → comment
Changes needed at 169 clubs
At the time of Vigar's accident, the FA's stadium accreditation criteria, which applies to the National League System in men's football and the Women's National League, said clubs needed to have a "permanent" barrier around the pitch "of sound construction (eg concrete and steel)".
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clubs → need → construction
In light of what happened to Vigar, the FA launched a safety review of more than 900 clubs, which was conducted by independent experts.
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which → happen → experts
As a result, the stadium criteria was updated last month and "no longer permits solid brick, breeze block or concrete barriers around pitches".
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criteria → update → pitches
The BBC has been told 169 clubs in the men's National League System and women's National League were notified they would need to make changes "as soon as is reasonably practicable".
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they → tell → changes
Where walls are structural, they must be "covered with suitable protection", such as padding.
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they → cover → padding
The FA said: "This important work is under way, and we will continue to fully support the clubs involved."
Funding is being provided by the FA and the Premier League.
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Funding → say → FA
BBC Sport approached hundreds of affected clubs in an effort to gauge their views on the changes and understand the status of their remedial work.
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Sport → approach → work
Bromsgrove Sporting near Birmingham, which has a concrete wall surrounding its pitch, told BBC Sport the changes were "completely understandable and long overdue".
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changes → have → Sport
It added: "We are fully supportive of this and are grateful for the 100% funding from the FA."
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We → add → FA
The club said it had been given a deadline of the end of this season but "being high risk it would be good to complete this side of Christmas".
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it → say → Christmas
Meanwhile, Sheppey United, in Kent, has a concrete supporting wall around two sides of its 3G pitch, which will be covered in padding.
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which → have → padding
Asked for their thoughts on the changes, the club said: "There is always an element of risk in all sports and they can't all be mitigated, unfortunately in this instance the remedial works are more a reactive response rather than a proactive one.
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works → ask → instance
If the funding wasn't in place I think it would make it difficult for some clubs to fund this."
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clubs → think → this
Bath City, where Fletcher's incident happened, has solid perimeter walls on all sides of its pitch.
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incident → happen → pitch
The club told BBC Sport: "We welcome the ruling as it seeks to improve player safety and recognises that funding needs to be available to support clubs to implement this fundamental change to the ground grading regulations."
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clubs → tell → regulations
Keith Vigar, Billy's father, said: "I work in the health and safety industry, and the main thing is you don't go to work and expect to get injured, let alone even die at work in the workplace."
The Vigars want the regulations extended above and below the National League.
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regulations → say → League
"It needs to change basically at all levels, not just at the levels that have changed," said Keith Vigar.
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Vigar → need → levels
That is a view shared by Fletcher, who said the FA had "ignored" his years of campaigning on the issue of pitch perimeter safety.
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FA → share → safety
"It wasn't until Billy's passing that [the FA] came to the table on this issue," he said.
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he → come → issue
Fletcher also said he is worried the ban on concrete, breeze block and brick walls does not cover all levels of the game and wants that explored urgently by the authorities.
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that → say → authorities
"There could be still situations where football is being played at some level, to some degree, organised football in this country, with these unsafe pitch perimeters.
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football → play → perimeters
I would like to see that guidance, or the regulation, extended to consider all of football.
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guidance → like → football
"
Billy was 'something different'
Compared to many youngsters, Billy Vigar joined the football system late - and yet his talent was still recognised.
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talent → compare → system
He was scouted by Arsenal while playing for local club Hove Rivervale in Sussex, and joined the Premier League side's academy.
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He → scout → academy
"It was just an amazing feeling," said his father.
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father → say → ?
"Sort of like your son's been chosen.
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son → choose → ?
…and 19 more, not listed.
The Aporia
