'His death could have been prevented' - Family of footballer slam the English FA

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In September of 2025, Chichester striker Billy Vigar was put in an intensive care unit after sustaining a serious brain injury during an Isthmian League Premier Division match against Wingate and Finchley.

The 21-year-old suffered the injury after colliding with a concrete wall while attempting to keep the ball in play.

At the time, Chichester said Vigar had been placed in an induced coma and was receiving the best possible treatment in intensive care. Tragically, he passed away five days after the incident due to his severe injuries.

His death led to an investigation into the safety of solid pitchside barriers, and it was determined that they should be banned in grounds around the country.

The review said it "no longer permits solid brick, breeze block or concrete barriers around pitches across the National League system for men [steps 1-6], and the Women's National League [tiers 3-4]".

For his family, however, that came too little, too late.

"You swing from sadness to anger because you just feel it could have been prevented," his mother Camilla told BBC Sport.

"[Billy] had his whole life ahead of him. He was 21 years old and he lost it playing football when he didn't need to.

"I personally feel that the FA could have stopped Billy losing his life because they had so many warnings."

The family believe the FA should have learned from previous incidents involving Ben Hiscox and Alex Fletcher.

Amateur player Ben died after colliding with a clubhouse in Bristol in 2015, while Alex suffered life-changing injuries after hitting concrete barriers next to the pitch at Bath City's ground.

Clubs were assessed by the FA but there was not a countrywide investigation.

"As far as I'm aware, nothing was done with that information and it just sat there. One of the clubs as far as I'm aware that was highlighted as being one of the high-risk clubs was Wingate [and Finchley], where Billy then lost his life," Camilla added.

After Billy's death, a petition requesting a ban on concrete walls around football pitches received more than 4,000 signatures.

Vigar was a graduate of the Arsenal academy and was playing for the Under-21s side up until his release. He joined Arsenal in 2017 before working his way up the ranks, but he never played for Arsenal's senior side.

He also played for Derby County, Hastings FC and Eastbourne Borough before moving to Chichester City.

Keith Vigar, Billy's father, said: "I work in the health and safety industry, and the main thing is you don't go to work and expect to get injured, let alone even die at work in the workplace."

Fletcher, who was forced to retire after fracturing his skull, believes the FA "ignored" the warnings sides that came before Billy's death.

"It wasn't until Billy's passing that [the FA] came to the table on this issue," he said.

"So for me, that is a complete dereliction of duty on their part, and there should be accountability for that failing.

"There could be still situations where football is being played at some level, to some degree, organised football in this country, with these unsafe pitch perimeters. I would like to see that guidance, or the regulation, extended to consider all of football."

Full FA statement

"We have undertaken a review of pitch perimeter walls across the National League System and Women's National League to identify what improvements can be made to our Stadium Accreditation Criteria that will help clubs mitigate potential safety risks at their grounds and stadiums," the full statement from the FA read.

"As a result of this ongoing phased review, which has been conducted by independent Health and Safety experts, we have updated our Stadium Accreditation Criteria for the 2026/27 season.

"This includes introducing revised criteria relating to pitch perimeter barriers, which no longer permits solid brick, breeze block or concrete barriers around pitches across the National League System or men [Steps 1-6], and the Women's National League (Tiers 3-4].

"Any existing solid brick, breeze block or concrete barriers must be removed as soon as reasonably practicable, or covered with suitable protection if they cannot be removed for structural reasons.

"We have informed the clubs at this level that will be required to take action as a result of these changes.

Matches may continue to be played at affected grounds during this period; however, clubs should assess the safety of their pitch perimeter barriers on an ongoing basis, and where alterations to these structures have been recommended during this review, they should develop a plan to complete any such alterations within a reasonable timeframe.

"To support this important work, The FA and the Premier League will provide funding to facilitate these changes, which will be administered by the Premier League Stadium Fund."