The Football Association (FA) has announced an immediate safety review of perimeter walls at football grounds within the National League system following the death of 21-year-old former Arsenal youth player, Billy Vigar.
The striker, playing for Chichester City, died on Thursday after sustaining a severe brain injury during a match last Saturday, believed to be caused by a collision with a concrete wall.
Vigar’s death has fueled a public outcry, with a petition demanding a ban on brick walls already gathering over 4,000 signatures.
The FA stated it will work with leagues and clubs to “identify and implement additional measures” to mitigate safety risks. The move follows urgent calls for an investigation from the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), who stressed that players should not face “unnecessary and avoidable risk.”
Brain injury charity Headway criticized the tragedy, noting that warnings about pitchside safety—including an incident in 2022 and a letter from the government and PFA in 2023—had been previously ignored.
Headway CEO Luke Griggs urged football’s wealthiest stakeholders to fund the padding or alteration of concrete walls at lower-league grounds.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, commenting on his former academy player, called the news “shocking” and hoped the investigation would help understand what happened and prevent future incidents.
