Dele Alli: Sleeping pill addiction 'widespread' in football, says psychotherapist

Prescription sleeping tablets are lone intended for short-term usage but players could extremity up utilizing them routinely for a fig of years

Addiction to sleeping pills successful shot is "much wider than radical realise", according to Oxford United psychotherapist Gary Bloom.

Bloom is the lone psychotherapist presently moving for an English club.

Former Liverpool goalkeeper Chris Kirkland agreed, saying, "Addiction is simply a monolithic occupation successful football."

During an affectional interrogation with The Overlap podcast, Dele talked astir the maltreatment helium suffered arsenic a kid earlier being adopted astatine 12.

And successful talking astir his ain addiction to sleeping tablets, helium added that misuse of the tablets was "something going astir much than radical realise successful football".

"I was taking a lot," the 27-year-old said. "I don't privation to get into numbers but it was decidedly mode excessively overmuch and I had immoderate scary moments."

Former commentator Bloom has worked with League One broadside Oxford for 5 years and, speaking to BBC World Service, helium outlined the nexus betwixt maximising on-pitch show and struggling to sleep.

"Addiction to sleeping tablets is widespread, overmuch much than radical realise," helium said. "There is besides wide usage of caffeine stimulants for matches.

"Players are beauteous wired during games due to the fact that they privation to springiness themselves a ineligible buzz for erstwhile they are playing - but past they cannot get to slumber astatine night.

"They are truthful prescribed sleeping tablets and the rhythm goes on."

Last summer, erstwhile Rotherham and Northampton defender Ryan Cresswell said addiction to the tablets near him "gripping connected for beloved life".

Bloom said much intelligence enactment wrong clubs was required.

"Football clubs are lone conscionable waking up to the realisation that erstwhile radical person off-field issues, these inevitably extremity up connected the field," helium said.

"In my opinion, much clubs should beryllium employing psychotherapists who are capable to premix and mingle freely with players and pass them of the consequences if they don't cleanable up their idiosyncratic problems."

'Clubs request to bash more'

In June 2022, Kirkland revealed details of his ain 10-year addiction to painkillers.

He believes the onus is connected clubs to supply overmuch amended enactment to players.

"My woman inactive does random cause tests connected me," helium told BBC Radio 5 Live. "Football clubs spot their players time successful time retired and present they request to enactment things successful spot successful and retired of house.

"Addiction is monolithic successful the crippled - whether that's gambling, intoxicant oregon drugs.

"Hopefully Dele coming retired volition assistance others question assistance to marque large changes."

In effect to Dele's interview, Dr Michael Bennett, the manager of subordinate wellbeing astatine the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA), said the national "regularly supports" members who person developed addictions, including to sleeping tablets.

"Even administered successful tiny doses, medicine medications tin beryllium habit-forming," helium added.

"If players are utilizing sleeping tablets oregon immoderate different medicine medicine and are acrophobic that they whitethorn person developed a dependency, we promote them to talk confidentially with the PFA and entree the enactment we offer."

Kirkland added that nine could beryllium much forgiving and accepting of those struggling with addiction.

"Instead of hammering radical and making them consciousness worse, wherefore not connection to help?" helium said. "We unrecorded successful a civilization wherever radical deliberation it's acceptable to heap much unit and maltreatment connected people, [especially those in] the nationalist eye.

"I don't deliberation that volition spell distant but we could bash much to forestall it."