THE FA has apologised and deleted a social media video showing a player narrowly avoid a serious head injury just weeks after another almost lost his life in similar circumstances.
Footage of Stockport’s Macauley Southam-Hales slamming into the pitchside fencing in Wednesday’s shock 3-1 FA Cup second round replay win over Charlton was posted on the competition’s TikTok account.
That came almost exactly a month after Bath City’s Alex Fletcher was rushed to hospital after colliding with concrete advertising boards during their game with Dulwich Hamlet.
He underwent emergency brain surgery and remained in intensive care for almost two weeks before being transferred to a neurosurgery recovery ward.
Stockport boss Dave Challinor said after seeing the 26-year-old seemingly nudged by Charlton’s George Dobson: “In the grand scheme of things, if he has a clear bill of health, he’s very, very lucky.
“If you look at it from a football perspective, as much as people might not mean certain things or meaning to hurt anybody, if that’s not endangering an opponent, I’m not sure what is.
“Regardless, it should be a sending off.
“He’s probably an inch away from potentially a fractured skull.”
But the FA Cup sickened supporters and family by putting a slow motion replay of Southam-Hales’ hefty collision, which cracked an advertising hoarding, online.
Southam-Hales’ mum Tanya said: “This made me feel physically sick!!
“What poor taste this was and definitely not a joke when he ended up in hospital. JUST WOW!!”
The defender was given the all clear from the hospital but the FA did not hold back in criticising whoever put the footage online.
A spokesman said: “The social media post has been deleted and we sincerely apologise – it should never have been published.
“The post was created by an external agency and we will review our processes to ensure this never happens again.”
