The safety of footballers around pitch-side walls was being 'swept under the carpet' long before the tragic death of ex-Arsenal academy prospect Billy Vigar this week, another player injured by a concrete hoarding has claimed.
The 21-year-old died on Thursday after suffering a 'significant brain injury' when he collided with a pitch-side wall while playing for Chichester City away at Wingate and Finchley at the weekend.
Vigar was placed in a coma and operated on by doctors in a desperate bid to save his life on Tuesday, but 'the injury proved too much for him', his devastated family said.
Football has united in the wake of the forward's passing in a bid to improve the safety of stadiums and pitches. A petition for 'Vigar's Law', banning brick walls near touchlines and bylines, has garnered more than 2,5000 signatures as of Friday morning.
Dorking Wanderers manager and YouTube personality Mark White has also joined the effort to avoid further incidents, describing some pitches in England as 'lethal'.
'All clubs need the FA to instruct an immediate enquiry into pitch surrounds,' he posted on the Dorking X account.
'Many are dangerous and players have to be cautious given the proximity from the pitch. But some simply do not move and are lethal. These need removing.'
Concerns about the safety of pitches were however raised and 'swept under the carpet' more than two years ago when Bath City star Jack Fletcher narrowly avoided dying in a similar incident.
The 26-year-old suffered a serious head injury after crashing into concrete advertising hoardings during a National League South game in November 2022.
He needed emergency surgery and was placed in a coma but luckily survived.
Fletcher returned to football some 10 months later after learning to walk again. He however ultimately retired from the game last year at the age of just 25 because he 'didn't feel like the same player anymore'.
The former Bath star called for more to be done to protect the safety of players as early as 2023 - long before the sad death of Billy Vigar.
'If I had lost my life I feel like more would have been done,' Fletcher told the BBC in 2023.
'Now that I have recovered and got back on the pitch it has been swept under the carpet a bit.'
Fletcher took up a role with the PFA in their Brain Health department following his injury in a bid to force change.
'I won't stop,' he added, 'I'll make sure that with my new role with the PFA I'll keep driving for change to improve player safety because for me it was almost the end.
'Luckily it wasn't, but there's not a lot that's changed in grounds up and down the country.'
While Fletcher was recovering, the PFA and the Minister for Sport, Stuart Andrew MP, sent a letter to the leagues and FA setting out expectations over the guidance which would be given to clubs to prevent further incidents.
'Collectively, football should do everything it can to make sure incidents like Alex Fletcher’s don’t happen. This is a step in the right direction and we appreciate the Minister’s support,' a statement from the PFA at the time read.
Just a month before Vigar's death, part of the breeze block wall at Wingate and Finchley collapsed to the side of one of the goals, causing the club's chairman Aron Sharpe to hit out at the Dulwich Hamlet away supporters.
The petition gaining traction following the young man's passing reads: 'We, football lovers, urgently call for the removal of brick walls and other hard, immovable structures surrounding football pitches.
'Billy's passing is not an isolated incident—countless players at all levels have suffered serious injuries, including broken bones, concussions, and life-altering trauma, as a result of these dangerous barriers.
'Many pitches, especially at grassroots and community level, remain bordered by solid brick walls placed only a few feet from the touchline. These walls serve no essential sporting purpose, yet they create an undeniable and avoidable hazard.
'Clubs, local councils, and sports authorities have a legal and moral obligation to provide a safe environment. Allowing hazardous structures to remain once the danger is known is a breach of that duty.
'Billy Vigar's death must be the last. We owe it to his memory—and to every player who steps onto a football pitch—to ensure that no one else suffers such a needless tragedy.'
Flowers have been laid outside Chichester City's ground and tributes flooded in from across the football world, led by his former clubs Arsenal, Chichester, Derby County, Eastbourne Borough, and Hastings United.
Non-league clubs may argue that walls help with crowd control, particularly when they have limited personnel to steward games, and that the cost of removing walls could be significant.
In a statement released on Friday, the PFA said that 'all footballers should expect to be safe when they go out to play or train'.
'Clearly there needs to be a formal investigation into the incident that has led to Billy Vigar's tragic death, and it is right that this is allowed to take place so that the full circumstances can be properly established,' the PFA statement read.
'All of our thoughts right now are with Billy's family and friends, and providing whatever support we can to them.
'When the time is right, we will offer any assistance we can as part of any investigation process, specifically information that may be helpful regarding the safety of players in grounds.
'That includes sharing concerns we have raised previously around incidents where PFA members have been seriously injured in collisions with perimeter walls and fences, such as that involving Alex Fletcher at Bath City.
'All footballers should expect to be safe when they go out to play or train, and to not be put at unnecessary and avoidable risk by factors beyond their control.
'When we previously highlighted potential safety issues in grounds and stadiums, the Sports Minister and I wrote to all the football authorities to urge them to be proactive on this and to make sure all their rules and regulations around player safety were fit for purpose.
'Again, whilst it is important that a proper investigation is allowed to conclude, we have to ensure that opportunities to make grounds safer for players have not been missed and that players don't feel that serious incidents involving their safety are necessary to prompt change.'
Daily Mail Sport has contacted Wingate & Finchley FC for comment. The FA have also been approached for comment but referred to their statement of condolence and did not elaborate.
Vigar was a product of Arsenal's Hale End academy, having initially joined on schoolboy terms aged 14. He signed scholarship terms in 2020, a professional contract in 2022, and was part of their under-21s set-up until last year. In 2024 he joined Hastings United and over the summer he joined non-league Step 3 side Chichester.
Chichester City, who have postponed their game against Lewes at the weekend, wrote on X on Thursday evening: 'It is with great sadness that Chichester City Football Club has to confirm the passing of Billy Vigar.' Separately, they said: 'Rest in peace Billy. Forever in the hearts of all at Chichester City Football Club.'
Arsenal wrote on their website: 'Everyone at Arsenal Football Club is deeply sorry to hear of the tragic passing of Chichester City forward and former Arsenal academy player, Billy Vigar.
'As well as his significant talent, Billy will always be remembered for his love of the game, pride at representing our football club - he once called the day he was spotted by our scouts as 'the most important of his life' – and a character beloved by teammates and coaches alike.
'Billy went on to appear for us in the PL2 and EFL Trophy and proved to be an asset across the forward positions and even deputised in defence – his versatility illustrating his commitment to the coaching staff and his team.
'Our deepest condolences go out to the Vigar family and his many friends at this extremely difficult time.
A statement from his family read: 'After sustaining a significant brain injury last Saturday, Billy Vigar was put in an induced coma.
'On Tuesday he needed an operation to aid any chances of recovery. Although this helped, the injury proved too much for him and he passed away on Thursday morning.
'The responses to the original update show how much Billy was thought of and loved within the sport.
'His family are devastated that this has happened whilst he was playing the sport that he loved.'
