Tottenham criticized for allowing goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to play after head injury

(Jon Super/ Associated Press ) - In this picture made available Nov. 4, Tottenham’s goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, right, walks back towards his goal after a clash with Everton’s Romelu Lukaku during their English Premier League soccer match at Goodison Park Stadium, Liverpool, England, Sunday Nov. 3, 2013. Brain injury charity Headway said the club showed an “irresponsible and cavalier attitude” to Lloris’s health. Initially the keeper looked set to go off on a stretcher to be replaced by substitute goalkeeper Brad Friedel but he played on after the lengthy delay as his manager Villas-Boas decided against making a substitution.

A day after goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was briefly knocked unconscious but continued to play, Tottenham defended its decision despite criticism from FIFA and the soccer players’ union.

Lloris was knocked out Sunday when his head smashed into a knee of Everton forward Romelu Lukaku during a Premier League match. The goalkeeper was treated on the field but was allowed to keep playing despite medical advice against it. Lloris could not remember the incident.

“The player should have been substituted,” FIFA chief medical officer Professor Jiri Dvorak said Monday. “The fact the other player needed ice on his knee means it’s obvious the blow was extensive. It’s a 99 percent probability that losing consciousness in such an event will result in concussion.”

On Monday, Tottenham said that brain scans gave Lloris an all-clear. But the extent of the injury would not have been known during the match.

“When he has been knocked unconscious, the player himself may not see the reality,” Dvorak said.

The FIFPro players’ union said Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas and his staff “failed to protect the goalkeeper.”

“FIFPro condemns that the health and safety of players are left to coaches/trainers or even to players themselves,” FIFPro medical adviser Vincent Gouttebarge said. “Medical professionals should be aware of any relevant medical guidelines and apply them in order to empower the health and safety on the field. The health and safety of the players should be the No. 1 priority and should prevail against any other matters.”

English Football Association regulations say a player treated after being “immobile and unresponsive to verbal commands following a head injury” should not return to action that day. But if the player experiences “a transient alteration of conscious level,” he can resume playing.

“If there is any doubt, keep the player out,” Dvorak said.

The Professional Footballers’ Association in England said players who suffer severe head injuries or loss of consciousness should automatically be taken out.

“When treating a player on the pitch, it can be very difficult to determine the severity of a head injury,” PFA deputy chief executive John Bramhall said. “It is important to take the pressure off the players, club medical staff, and the manager — removing the need for them to make a very difficult decision.”

Tottenham, however, saw nothing wrong with its decision to allow Lloris to continue and not replace him with American Brad Friedel.

“Once the relevant tests and assessments were carried out we were totally satisfied that he was fit to continue playing,” said Wayne Diesel, Tottenham’s head of medical services.