Headers caused Nobby Stiles' brain disease, coroner finds

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. Headers caused Nobby Stiles' brain disease, coroner findsImage source, ReutersImage caption, Norbert "Nobby" Stiles headed the ball thousands of times a year in training, his son saysByMairead SmythNorth WestPublished24 minutes agoEngland World Cup winner Nobby Stiles died with a brain condition caused by repeatedly heading a football, a coroner has ruled at his inquest. The former Manchester United midfielder died with severe dementia in 2020 aged 78 and had headed a football about 140,000 times during his career, Stockport Coroners' Court heard. Neuropathology expert Dr Daniel Du Plessis told the court: "I'm quite convinced his heading the football that many times has caused his CTE .

" Senior Coroner Alison Mulch recorded the cause of death to be Alzheimer's disease, contributed to by "high stage" CTE, along with another neurodegenerative condition and cerebrovascular disease. Image source, PA MediaImage caption, Nobby Stiles (right) was part of England's 1966 World Cup winning teamNorbert "Nobby" Stiles, born in Collyhurst, Manchester in 1942, was a tough-tackling defensive midfielder. He was capped 28 times by England and was part of the national team that won the 1966 World Cup final.

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He also played nearly 400 times for Manchester United. He lived in Stretford, Greater Manchester, before he died in a care home on 30 October 2020, having been left bed-bound by his dementia. His family has campaigned for football authorities to do more to help ex-players cope with injuries they claim were caused during their playing days.

Stiles' son, John, told the inquest: "Heading the ball in training was absolutely massive", adding that, on a very conservative estimate, his dad had headed the ball 40 times a day, five times a week over each 10-month season. He said his father was "very humble – he just happened to achieve quite a lot in the professional game". 'Encouraged' to headHe added: "He went into his house and you wouldn't know he was a footballer.

Football was left at the door. "Family was always his first priority and then his friends"The coroner put it to him that it seemed "football, it wasn't a dominant factor" in his dad's life. He replied: "It really wasn't at all – he never talked about it – it was just something that happened to him.

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"We were much more proud of the father than the footballer"The court heard that Old Trafford used to have a ball that would hang down from the stand and the players were encouraged to head it. Stiles' son stressed to the hearing that "this wasn't forced upon them but they obviously didn't know what was happening". The family started noticing Stiles was forgetting things and asking the same question several times in his late 50s and early 60s.

"For a long time, there was a terrible impending feeling of doom by the family – we didn't know what was happening but we could feel it coming on," John said.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.