Give referees basic first aid training, urges senator

After the recent sudden deaths of young footballers Gregory Mertens and Tim Nicot, N-VA senator Pol Van Den Driessche (pictured) is advocating the introduction of basic first aid training for referees. Van Den Driessche, who is a ref for the U13- and U15 leagues, made his plea in a letter to the provincial referee committee of West Flanders, writes De Standaard.

"The death of former Cercle Brugge player Gregory Mertens affects me deeply, but also all other similar incidents. And now the death of Tim Nicot," he wrote. "Like many colleagues, especially the referees with more experience, I have already witnessed a number of more or less serious accidents on the pitch.”

Van Den Driessche proposes that the referee committee include basic first aid in the training of referees. “When play is stopped due to an injury, it is the ref who is the first one there. I am convinced that a lot of suffering could be spared if the referee were able to make an initial diagnosis and offer immediate help, especially in the case of manifest heart failure," according to the senator.