Footballers should expect to be safe when they play or train - PFA

All footballers should "expect to be safe when they go out to play or train" and not be put at "avoidable risk", the Professional Footballers' Association said after the death of former Arsenal youth player Billy Vigar.

Vigar, 21, died on Thursday after sustaining a "significant brain injury" while playing for Chichester City at Wingate and Finchley FC last Saturday.

It is thought the injury was caused when he collided with a concrete wall, but the club have not confirmed that.

A petition calling for a ban on brick or concrete walls around football pitches has received more than 2,300 signatures.

PFA chief executive Maheta Molango said it was vital to ensure "opportunities to make grounds safer for players have not been missed" and there needed to be a formal investigation.

"All of our thoughts right now are with Billy's family and friends, and providing whatever support we can to them," he said.

"All footballers should expect to be safe when they go out to play or train and to not be put at unnecessary and avoidable risk by factors beyond their control.

"Whilst it is important that a proper investigation is allowed to conclude, we have to ensure that opportunities to make grounds safer for players have not been missed and that players don't feel that serious incidents involving their safety are necessary to prompt change."

The government and the PFA wrote to the Football Association, the Premier League, the English Football League and the National League in June 2023 calling on them to adopt a more proactive approach to player safety in this area.

That came after Bath City's Alex Fletcher suffered a fractured skull after colliding with a concrete advertising hoardings during a match in November 2022.