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Sunday League footballers at risk

Hundreds of amateur football teams are leaving their players at serious risk by not taking out robust insurance policies to protect against injury, it was claimed today. As the new season beckons, leading Midlands solicitor Higgs & Sons has revealed that too many teams are not protecting their players from nasty challenges on park pitches across the UK every week.

It means that if an injury is sustained through a nasty challenge, then the hurt player will find it extremely difficult to claim for compensation – no matter how crude the tackle.

Clare Langford of Higgs & Sons said the number of clubs who don't take out policies is higher than many would think.

She said: "The law states that injuries arising form the normal "rough and tumble" of the game or errors of judgement are not to be regarded as negligent. The terrible injury to Arsenal Football Club's forward Eduardo at the end of last season is a reminder to us all that bad injuries do occur, even when there is no apparent malice involved"

"Many clubs simply think that these things will never happen to them, but this could be a dangerous attitude to have."

However, Higgs & Sons did reassure people that liability for personal injury does depend on whether the contact goes above or beyond what you would expect to see on a football field.

Clare said: "Players have a duty not to deliberately injure another player in a way that could be deemed dangerous. If an injury occurs out of these circumstances, then the injured player may have grounds to seek compensation from the opposing 'negligent' player and should consider seeking legal advice."

This in itself can also however lead to concerns. If the Football Club does not have an adequate policy of insurance in place it can lead to a player personally being pursued for compensation.

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