'It was a relief when my ex-footballer husband died after CTE'

"When helium died, it was a relief. He was lying successful bed, couldn't talk, couldn't eat, laid determination with a nappy on. No-one would privation to unrecorded similar that, and I didn't privation him to unrecorded similar that."

Sue Bird's last years joined to erstwhile Mansfield Town defender Kevin Bird were marred by grief and violence.

Her loving husband's property was decimated by dementia and helium was yet sectioned successful 2020. He ne'er came location and died successful February 2023.

Like the Bird family, Tina White began to interest astir her hubby Goff - a one-time semi-professional footballer who played for Ryde, Waterlooville and Basingstoke - erstwhile helium developed an erratic temper that led him to behave with uncharacteristic aggression.

"His full property changed. Before, helium had empathy. He was a precise loving and passionate antheral towards me. But helium became a wholly antithetic person, a idiosyncratic that I didn't like. One time helium got truly assertive and said helium wanted to termination me.

"He wasn't Goff - we mislaid Goff a agelong clip ago."

Sue and Tina judge repeatedly heading footballs killed their husbands.

The Bird and White families are portion of a radical whose footballer relatives were diagnosed with neurological conditions caused by chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

CTE is believed to beryllium caused by repeated blows to the head. However, a definitive diagnosis tin lone beryllium fixed aft death, arsenic it requires investigation of the brain.

On Friday, a radical of families - besides including 1966 World Cup victor Nobby Stiles' lad John - volition contiguous aesculapian submissions to the High Court successful London successful the latest signifier of a ineligible situation being brought against the Football Association, its Welsh counterpart and planetary football's lawmakers Ifab. They are taking enactment implicit what they accidental are encephalon injuries caused by repeated impacts betwixt caput and ball.

Some of the families person besides written to the Coroners' Society to petition each British sportspeople's brains beryllium tested for CTE aft decease to "force sports to follow amended protocols successful respect of encephalon welfare" and "provide greater consciousness of the hazard of encephalon injuries for sports participants".

BBC Sport spoke to the widows of ex-footballers astir their experiences of dealing with CTE, which they accidental is besides "an contented for the younker of today" not conscionable "an aged person's disease".

In the decennary starring up to his decease earlier this year, Goff - a elder task technologist aft his aboriginal shot vocation - changed from the "larger-than-life quality who loved telling jokes" into a ammunition of himself.

He was incapable to work, undertake basal tasks, struggled with his code and became prone to temper swings.

"We were joined for 50 years," says Tina. "The past 10 were hell.

"Goff was a prolific header of the shot arsenic a footballer. I deliberation the harm was done betwixt 18 to 20 [years old], erstwhile helium got a batch of concussions. He was a precise assertive player, successful determination with his head, and helium would practise heading for hours."

According to the NHS, CTE tin origin slump and suicidal thoughts, property changes, and increases successful erratic and convulsive behaviour.

For Tina and her family, the outbursts of unit Goff suffered from were devastating.

"One time helium conscionable went berserk. I locked myself successful the bath and rang the police, but helium broke the fastener connected the door. I ran retired and luckily the neighbours had travel over, truthful I managed to unfastened the doorway to them.

"He chased aft me, punched maine violently and helium pulled maine back. I deliberation if they hadn't been determination helium would person earnestly wounded maine that day.

"I said to the police: 'Please don't fastener him successful a jailhouse cell. He's sick, not a criminal.' Then helium got sectioned. He didn't travel location aft that.

"I utilized to spell to furniture and outcry each night, and I retrieve 1 nighttime I thought it would conscionable beryllium easier if helium died. That's however atrocious you consciousness astatine times."

After Goff died, Tina donated his encephalon for introspection by Prof Willie Stewart - the pre-eminent neuropathologist who specialises successful CTE cases successful sportspeople and has advised sports bodies astir concussion protocols.

Prof Stewart told Tina her husband's encephalon was "totally tangled up with abnormal proteins and CTE deposits".

"Former nonrecreational footballers are astatine overmuch higher hazard of degenerative encephalon diseases, dementias and related disorders," says Prof Stewart, who is simply a advisor neuropathologist astatine the University of Glasgow. "What we spot is the hazard is astir 3 and a fractional times higher than it should be."

Prof Stewart says cases of CTE tin beryllium linked to repeated impacts specified arsenic heading footballs, due to the fact that the pathology of the illness differs truthful overmuch from different forms of dementia.

"We spot this precise unsocial alteration successful the encephalon which lone appears successful athletes that we don't spot successful different individuals," helium adds.

Mansfield fable Kevin Bird played implicit 450 times for the Stags arsenic a no-nonsense defender done the 1970s and aboriginal 1980s. He died past year, aged 70.

"I near him successful furniture 1 time and came backmost successful the afternoon," says Sue, his woman of astir 40 years. "He was successful the country of the lounge with his hands connected his head, crouching successful the country and conscionable sobbing. He was repeating 'I don't cognize what's the substance with me'."

Kevin was initially diagnosed with Alzheimer's with slump successful 2013, but his information deteriorated arsenic helium forgot however to bash things specified arsenic navigator and bash the gardening.

"It was New Year's Eve 2019," Sue recalls. "He'd gone retired the beforehand doorway and was pacing up and down successful beforehand of the window. Eventually I helped him backmost inside. Then helium attacked maine - conscionable went for me. He didn't cognize who I was a batch of the time. I don't cognize if helium thought I was an intruder oregon what, but helium attacked and injured me.

"They sectioned him. I thought they'd springiness him thing to calm him down and he'd travel home, but helium ne'er came location aft that. He was wholly gone by then."

Post-mortem investigation of Kevin's encephalon showed helium was suffering from CTE.

Judith Gates, whose hubby Bill retired from shot the time earlier his 30th day owed to persistent migraines aft playing implicit 200 times for Middlesbrough, acceptable up the Head Safe Football instauration pursuing confirmation of his CTE diagnosis.

"In the past 2 oregon 3 years helium could nary longer talk, nary longer walk, had trouble swallowing - and truthful the carnal symptoms kicked successful alongside the cognitive ones,” Judith says. "You're watching the idiosyncratic that you've loved melt away, and each that made them who they were gradually diminish.

"CTE is brutal. It brings temper issues. Bill went done a clip of suicidal ideation, wherever helium begged america to find him a gun. I had to fell each paracetamol successful the house."

Earlier this period The Telegraph reported, external that the FA tried to forestall an inquest into the relation played by shot successful Bill's death.

"This is an affectional situation," Judith says. "To perceive the FA wishing to disregard our family's tendency for the information to beryllium told astir Bill was hurtful."

A spokesperson for the FA told the BBC: "We reiterate our sympathy for the Gates family. Whilst we bash not deliberation it is due to remark connected an ongoing inquest, our presumption is that the question of immoderate imaginable links betwixt shot and neurodegenerative illness is intelligibly a substance of nationalist involvement which needs to beryllium handled appropriately and properly."

Judith has recovered intent successful trying to guarantee nary different footballers endure the aforesaid destiny arsenic Bill. Head Safe Football aims to safeguard players, nonrecreational oregon amateur, from CTE by educating them astir ways heading tin beryllium reduced successful training.

"I'm perfectly definite that it's a ticking clip bomb," Judith says. "I walk a just spot of clip with players who are successful betwixt playing the crippled and having demonstrable symptoms. What I'm uncovering from conversations with them is they are frightened to death."

For Professor Stewart, focusing connected reducing little important interaction betwixt caput and shot is the key.

"A important proportionality of footballers whitethorn beryllium affected by this, if they get to the property wherever dementia is simply a problem," helium says.

"We sat with immoderate of the families and worked retired that immoderate players whitethorn caput the shot 70,000 times implicit a 10-15 twelvemonth career, but lone a fraction of those - 1 oregon 2 1000 of them - whitethorn person occurred during matches. So, we tin get escaped of 90% to 95% of caput impacts conscionable by keeping heading for the match."

There are rules crossed England, Scotland and Wales restricting heading successful children's games, portion antithetic restrictions are successful spot astir training successful the English and Scottish nonrecreational games.

All 3 widows privation heading reduced, alternatively than banned, and much acquisition of young players astir the dangers of CTE.

A spokesperson for the FA told the BBC: "We proceed to instrumentality a starring relation successful reviewing and improving the information of our game. This includes investing successful and supporting aggregate projects successful bid to summation a greater knowing of this country done objective, robust and thorough research.

"We person already taken galore proactive steps to reappraisal and code imaginable hazard factors which whitethorn beryllium associated with shot whilst ongoing probe continues successful this area, including liaising with the planetary governing bodies."