But why Alireza Beiranvand did he remain so long on the lawn of the Khalifa International stadium on Monday, after an impressive shock with defender Majid Hosseini, from the 9th minute of the match against England? The “Team Melli” goalkeeper, visibly knocked out, waited ten minutes before being replaced, not without having tried, in vain, to continue the game, finally lost by his team (6-2) for his entry into the World Cup in Qatar.
“It was not clear but, a minute later, the player could not continue”, justified the Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz in a press conference. “The delay happened because there was doubt between the broken nose and the concussion. Finally, the verdict fell, revealed by Queiroz: Beiranvand “suffered a serious concussion”. The 30-year-old goalkeeper underwent further examinations in a hospital.
Rugby fans have long been accustomed to such lightness in handling head impacts. But, even if everything is still far from perfect, the concussion protocol in the oval has been considerably reinforced, as we saw during the very brutal France – South Africa, on November 12 in Marseille. If FIFA could take inspiration from it…