Football fans have launched a petition to ban brick walls being placed next to pitches after a non-league player tragically died after colliding with a concrete hoarding.
Former Arsenal academy star Billy Vigar, 21, died on Thursday after suffering a 'significant brain injury' playing for Chichester City last Saturday. He was placed in a coma and operated on, but doctors could not save him.
Chichester had been playing away at Wingate and Finchley in the London borough of Barnet, whose stadium has a brick wall running alongside the pitch. It is believed Vigar collided with the wall after trying to keep the ball in play.
Only last month, part of the breeze block wall collapsed to the side of one of the goals, causing the club's chairman, Aron Sha, to hit out at Dulwich Hamlet fans.
And supporters feel that Vigar's death was avoidable. A petition for 'Vigar's Law,' banning brick walls around pitches, garnered more than 1,000 signatures on Thursday night within hours of Chichester City announcing the forward's death.
'We, football lovers, urgently call for the removal of brick walls and other hard, immovable structures surrounding football pitches,' the petition on Change.org reads.
'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 2022, a Bath City player, Alex Fletcher, suffered multiple skull fractures after a horrifying collision with a concrete advertising hoarding. He was put into a coma and needed emergency brain surgery, but survived.
On social media, supporters mourned the avoidable circumstances of Vigar's death.
'Truly horrific news. Hopefully, Billy Vigar’s legacy is a permanent shift to safety measures at grounds around the country,' one said.
Another wrote: 'It's absolutely awful for a 21-year-old to go and play the game he loves on a Saturday and
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