Former football star Gordon McQueen linked his dementia to heading the ball, as revealed during his inquest on Tuesday. The Scottish and Manchester United icon was diagnosed with vascular dementia before passing away at the age of 70 in 2023. Hayley McQueen, his daughter and a presenter at Sky Sports, shared that her father believed his extensive history of heading the ball may have contributed to his condition.
During the inquiry in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, Hayley recalled her father expressing concerns about the impact of heading footballs over the years. She described noticing changes in his behavior after he turned 60, mentioning issues with swallowing and persistent headaches. Despite not recalling any major head injuries during his career aside from a few concussions, Hayley highlighted a significant shift in his personality.
McQueen’s struggle with dysphagia, alongside a diagnosis of throat cancer, further complicated his health. Hayley detailed how his memory and cognitive abilities deteriorated, leading to confusion about simple tasks like writing or making a cup of tea. She emphasized the stark difference in his social demeanor, noting how his once outgoing personality transformed into a withdrawn state where he needed prompting to engage in conversation.
The family’s legal representative, Michael Rawlinson KC, inquired about McQueen’s goal-scoring techniques, to which Hayley responded that he predominantly scored with his head from set-pieces. Following discussions with Dawn Astle, daughter of the late England striker Jeff Astle who suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the McQueen family learned more about the nature of his illness.
Professor Willie Stewart, who examined McQueen’s brain postmortem and identified CTE, explained that the symptoms aligned with cognitive decline and behavioral changes. He affirmed a definitive link between CTE and repetitive head injuries, particularly common in professional footballers and rugby players with extensive careers. The inquest revealed a combination of factors contributing to McQueen’s health issues, including pneumonia, mixed vascular dementia, and CTE.
Prof. Stewart highlighted the positional risk disparity in footballers, noting that outfield players, especially defenders, faced a higher risk of neurodegenerative diseases compared to goalkeepers who rarely headed the ball. The inquest was adjourned to allow for legal deliberations, with the coroner scheduled to deliver conclusions on January 26.