Former Scottish Football Association chief executive Gordon Smith has said that football players could be forced to sign disclaimers before playing amid fears of an enhanced risk of developing degenerative brain disease.
Footballers who repeatedly head the ball can end up suffering from dementia, new findings have suggested, prompting calls for more research into a long-suspected issue in the sport.
A potential cause of dementia thought to arise from blows to the head has, for the first time, been confirmed in a group of retired footballers following a small study.
On Sunday, it was reported that the legendary former Celtic captain Billy McNeill has been suffering with symptoms of Alzheimer's for several years and joins a long list of other comparably affected former professionals.
"I think there might be a scenario where eventually players would have to sign some sort of form that says they are not going to take action at a later date," Smith told The Telegraph. "A disclaimer form [saying] that if you are playing football then heading is part of the game, you accept that and you get on with it.
"I think that might be the way ahead because we don't want to see the game change -- heading is a tremendous part of the game and I don't want it taken out of football.
"I've no doubt that a lot of the guys who played the game have suffered greatly, like Billy. There will be younger guys, even with the change of ball, who could be affected. Some research is going into it at the moment -- but not enough. I think we should be funding more. Football has a duty of care."
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) the progressive degenerative brain disease associated with repeated blows to the head, can only be confirmed with certainty after someone dies. Symptoms include memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse control problems, aggression, depression and, eventually, progressive dementia.
CTE can cause dementia and, like Alzheimer's, is characterised by a buildup of abnormal tau protein in the brain.
The rate of CTE detected in the footballers' brains was greater than the 12 percent average found in a previous study which looked at 268 brains from the general population.