Man Utd legend Sir Alex Ferguson calls on Scottish government change after passing of Gordon McQueen

Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson has added his name to those calling on the Scottish government to reclassify football-related brain injuries as industrial injuries.

The move comes just days after the passing of fellow Red Devils legend Gordon McQueen who died on June 15 after a battle with dementia, which his family are convinced happened as a result of repeated heading of the ball.

Sir Alex adds his name to a list including Gordon Strachan, Alex McLeish, Willie Miller and Craig Levein who have signed an open letter to the Scottish government.

The Injury Time campaign is being led by MSP Michael Marra after a study found ex-professionals were 3.5x more likely to develop dementia. The bid was launched in 2021 and centres on three demands of the government:

• To classify brain injury in football as an industrial injury. This would help give ex-professionals access to the care they need.
• To fund further research into practical and preventative support within the game.
• To create a working group to consider issues around brain injury and dementia.

Mr Marra told BBC Scotland: "We think there's more work to be done on research into the injuries sustained in the game.

"It's an issue of growing concern. The impact on an individual and their family is absolutely huge.

"The loss of memory, the loss of all kinds of function. Over time it is a really debilitating disease that can lead to death."

A Scottish government spokesperson said: "Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit continues to be delivered by the UK government who decide which conditions should be prescribed for the purposes of the benefit.

"We recognise that there is a range of views on Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit which is why we have committed to a consultation in the next few months on our approach to replacing the scheme in Scotland."