MIKE KEEGAN: Temporary concussion substitutes will NOT be trialled in the Premier League

Temporary concussion substitutes will not be tested in the Premier League after ‘idiot’ lawmakers rejected the proposals in a move that is ‘unbelievable’.

Sportsmail columnist and activist Chris Sutton branded the IFAB (International Football Association Board) the ‘International Federation of Jesters’ after they rejected an FA-backed request to introduce the protocol in the top flight, MLS and Ligue 1.

It had been thought that the measure would be given the green light. But, following a contentious summit, the IFAB said a “consensus could not be reached” and that effective ways of implementing the current system of permanent concussion substitutes would instead be explored.

“He’s completely idiotic,” Sutton said. ‘Idiot. Are these people stupid? It is not an exact science. Didn’t these people see the World Cup? Iran’s goalkeeper against England: almost got his head smashed in and he stays on the pitch. It’s amazing to believe. They are idiots.

‘Sutton also asked the current players to speak. ‘Their families will be the ones to suffer later and ask why they didn’t get the best duty of care.

The players have the power. Why don’t we hear from them? They talk about many other topics. You can have all the money in the world but it won’t reverse the damage.’

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham, who chaired the meeting and who postponed the trial, which he is behind, was reluctant to point a finger.

However, he admitted that the concussion debate was the “longest conversation” in a meeting that lasted about 90 minutes.

Asked if the Premier League test could still happen next season or if it had been further delayed, he said: “It has been further delayed.”

‘I presented it a year ago, I presented it again today. There are different points of view and they all have merit. I’m probably not the best person to give you both sides of the argument, but there will be no IFAB support for a trial at the moment.’

Instead, the permanent substitute trial for concussion will continue indefinitely. FIFA said it conducted a survey of doctors from teams that had adopted the test and found that 71 percent supported the permanent concussion replacement model.

The move has also been programmed by the PFA’s head of brain health, Dr. Adam Wright.

“There is a fundamental problem if player unions and leagues feel that soccer legislators prevent them from doing what they collectively agree is best to protect player safety,” he said.

‘The next step will be for unions and leagues to discuss what this means and what options are available to them.

“We believe that the introduction of temporary concussion substitutes is now increasingly seen as a common sense measure to better protect players.” Many will rightly ask “if not now, when?”

Elsewhere in the meeting it was agreed that referees at next week’s Club World Cup, which includes English referee Anthony Taylor, will for the first time explain the reasons for VAR decisions to the in-stadium crowd and audience. television

A proposal to test a countdown clock to replace the referee as timekeeper was also rejected.