A federal judge from the Northern District of California has turned away the claims of a group of soccer players, who had alleged in a 2014 lawsuit that FIFA and several U.S.-based soccer leagues perpetuated inadequate concussion prevention policies, impacting more than three million child and adolescent soccer players in the United States.
U.S. District Chief Judge Phyllis Hamilton tipped her hand that a dismissal was coming when she noted in an earlier hearing: “It should be pretty clear to you all that I’m going to dismiss this complaint. I still, after more than three hours of discussion, have grave concerns about inconsistencies and contradictions, and lack of clarity.”
Besides the allegedly flawed policies, the plaintiffs also claimed that there was a lack of effective policies, which pose a greater danger to players that are women and children, since both groups are more vulnerable to traumatic and long-lasting brain injury. In addition, they alleged that FIFA’s guidelines appear to suggest that players self-diagnose brain injuries by allowing a referee and not a medical professional to determine if the player is too injured to continue. This creates a problem, since “returning a player to play before fully recovered negligently puts him or her at risk of a permanent brain injury,” argued Steve Berman of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP.
The plaintiffs, seven current and former soccer players, sought to force FIFA and its U.S. affiliates to implement up-to-date guidelines for detection of head injuries and for return to play after a concussion. The suit also called for regulation of heading by players under 17 years old, and a rule change to permit substitution of players for medical evaluation purposes. FIFA rules, the plaintiffs claimed, generally allow only three substitutions per game with no clear provision for head injuries. If an athlete bleeds, removal is required. But no similar rule exists for concussions, they claimed.
Some of the arguments in the defendants’ motion to dismiss proved effective. Among them:
FIFA is a Swiss entity headquartered in Zurich, and cannot be sued in the Northern District of California because it has no offices, employees or bank accounts in California.
FIFA cannot affect international soccer rules by itself.
Only one of the plaintiffs claimed to have suffered a concussion while playing soccer, and it wasn’t from a header, which a facet of soccer identified in the complaint as a cause of concussions.
Russell Sauer Jr., a partner at Latham & Watkins, served as counsel for the United States Soccer Federation. He argued prior to the judge’s ruling that the claim represented “a classic case of a speculative chain of possibilities.” Further, he suggested that plaintiffs assumed the risk of injury when they step on the field.
Berman told the judge he will file a revised complaint to address the judge’s concerns.
