LAST week I wrote about injuries and this week I want to deviate a little and mention a book I wrote on the subject many years ago with a fellow referee.

Refereeing fairly regularly in the Reading League, I was struck by how unprepared clubs were for injuries.

Most had ‘trainers’ armed only with a bucket and sponge.

The lack of equipment was accompanied by a complete lack of knowledge on the treatment of injuries.

My colleague, Terry Gibbs, no doubt well remembered by older footballers in the town, was a trained first-aider but the book we wrote called ‘So You Carry The Sponge’ dealt solely with injuries that could occur on the football field.

The book sold pretty well and some referees bought it. One wrote to the Referees’ Association to say he believed every referee should have one in his kit bag.

I sent them a copy and suggested they could sell it in their supplies department. They unexpectedly refused, saying that if a referee treated a player as outlined in the book and it went wrong they might be sued.

I mention this now because earlier this season a referee saved the life of a young player by giving him resuscitation similar to that outlined in our book.

He didn’t worry about being sued, just saving someone’s life.

I have another reason. We said in the book that we didn’t think concussion was being taken seriously enough.

The same sentiment has been made again recently, but at long last, at professional level at least, some practical measure is being considered.

Last season’s changes to the Laws allowed players to wear electric performance tracking systems, although they couldn’t be used for tactical purposes such as substitutions. The IFAB will now discuss at their meeting at Wembley in March, whether they could be used to assess head injuries to determine if they were dangerous.

Football is catching up with our little book.