In a narrative verdict, senior coroner John Heath told the court: “I have found that Mr McQueen suffered repetitive head impacts during his career.
“I am satisfied that on the balance of probability that repeatedly heading footballs contributed to his developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
The combination of CTE and vascular dementia led to pneumonia. I find the cause of death pneumonia, vascular dementia and CTE.”
He added: “It is likely that repetitive head impacts, sustained by heading the ball while playing football, contributed to the CTE.”
The coroner’s narrative verdict echoes the landmark 2002 verdict in the case of Jeff Astle, the first professional footballer whose death was legally attributed to industrial disease caused by heading a football.
Two decades on, McQueen’s inquest reinforces the urgent need for football to confront its legacy of brain injury and the potential risks facing today’s players.
Reacting to the news, Luke Griggs, Chief Executive of Headway UK, said: “My first thoughts are with Gordon’s family.
“They, like hundreds of other families across the country, deserved to know why the person they loved so dearly was taken from them – not just in death, but in the years following his retirement from football.
“Brain injury or degenerative neurological conditions such as CTE or dementia, can take so much from a person as well as their loved ones who can see them declining in front of their eyes.
“The link between repeated head trauma and degenerative neurological conditions is well established. In recent years, peer-reviewed evidence has been strengthened with studies showing that footballers of Gordon’s generation were at a significantly greater risk of developing dementia than the general population.
“For the coroner to link the cause of Gordon’s death to heading a football during his career is hugely important, not just for the family but also for contact sport in general.”
In 2002, a similar ruling was made following the death of Jeff Astle. For more than two decades, Jeff’s family have been campaigning for more support for families affected and for football to learn lessons.
How football reacts to this latest tragic reminder of the fragility of our brains and its responsibility to safeguarding participants will show just how much has been learned.
“Football’s reaction to Jeff Astle’s verdict was shameful,” said Luke. “We have come a long way since then and there’s no doubt that awareness of brain injury has increased, but this will be a test of just how far we have come.
“We cannot afford for Gordon’s verdict to be seen as a one-off situation. There will be hundreds, if not thousands of families seeking similar answers. They need help and support from the world’s wealthiest sport.
“But we also need football – and all contact sports – to go much further in order to safeguard future generations.
“This includes further research into the risks of heading modern footballs, and the cumulative impact of head injuries in the likes of rugby, boxing and MMA.
“More needs to be done to instil an evolution of attitudes towards brain health in sport, particularly at grassroots level. This would be aided by the government launching a public health campaign, but it will also require sports governing bodies to stop fighting the evidence and fully commit to change.
“For Jeff, Gordon and so many others, sport simply has to act.”
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