Michael Owen was called a 'caveman' by Chris Sutton, after the former Liverpool striker made the dumbest comments possible about concussion in football.
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Owen is a man whose punditry includes once saying "that’s a fantastic penalty, but he’ll be gutted it went wide," and that might not even be the stupidest thing he's ever said.
Sure the striker Michael Owen was a brilliant player, when not injured, who once won the Ballon d'Or, as he reminded Emma Raducanu at the end of last year, but the pundit is generally a big no.
On Wednesday night the former Liverpool forward was in the studio on BT Sport for the game between Benfica and Ajax, which lived up to it's brilliant hype video.
Discussing the concussion that Robin Koch got last weekend in Leeds United game, Sutton, whose father died after suffering with dementia, called for temporary subs.
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"Until IFAB step up and change the concussion protocols, they are not looking after player welfare.
"Player welfare isn’t put first within the game.
"He [Koch] needs to come off the pitch to the sanctuary of the dressing room and get checked by an independent doctor.
"In the meantime, he is replaced by a temporary substitute so you are not numerically disadvantaged.
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'It is common sense. Why are IFAB not stepping up?"
That's when Owen answered saying, "Because bumps and bangs on the head,.."
Before the former England striker could go any further with what sounded like it was going to be a dumb answer, Sutton interrupted him saying, "Hang on a minute, concussion is a bump and a bang. How do you know that is not a concussion?"
Owen replied, "If you take what you say to an extreme, every time they roll around holding their leg, they have broken their leg."
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At that point Sutton had understandably had enough and hit back, saying, "Michael, that is the view of a caveman. Football needs to catch up”
Fortunately the ex Manchester United forward wasn't allowed to go any further with his opinion, as presenter Seema Jaswal soon sent the coverage back to the game.
Sutton has long been an advocate of temporary substitutions and the allowance of a longer medical check up, as concussion symptoms can take a while to show.
His suggestion is exactly how the concussion protocols work in rugby union and seems like a very good idea, that would avoid incidents such as Koch's at the weekend.
Featured Image Credit: BT SportTopics: Michael Owen, Champions League, Leeds United
