Heading a football “likely” contributed to the brain injury which was a factor in the death of former Scotland defender Gordon McQueen, a coroner has found.
McQueen – who was capped for Scotland 30 times between 1974 and 1981, and played for both Manchester United and Leeds during a 16-year career — died at his home in North Yorkshire in June 2023, aged 70.
The cause of death was pneumonia as he had become frail and bed-bound for months, the inquest in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, heard earlier this month.
That frailty was due to a combination of vascular dementia and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), coroner Jon Heath said.
The coroner gave a narrative conclusion on Monday, finding that McQueen died from pneumonia as a consequence of mixed vascular dementia and CTE.
He said: “It is likely that repetitive head impacts sustained by heading the ball while playing football contributed to the CTE.”
