Football refs need cardiac training, says coroner

A coroner has urged the Football Association to better equip people with cardiac awareness. Wycombe footballer's death prompts cardiac training warning to FA Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Adam Ankers collapsed while playing football and died in hospital days later A close-up of Adam Ankers, who has fair hair swept forward on his forehead. He is smiling and looking in the distance beyond the camera. Football refs need cardiac training, says coroner Football coaches and referees should receive mandatory training to identify signs of sudden cardiac arrest, a coroner has urged. The recommendation followed an inquest that concluded there was a "missed opportunity" to save Adam Ankers, 17, who collapsed while playing for Wycombe Wanderers' under-19s in January 2024. The recommendation followed an inquest that concluded there was a "missed opportunity" to save Adam Ankers , 17, who collapsed while playing for Wycombe Wanderers' under-19s in January 2024. Assistant coroner Valerie Charbit told West London Coroner's Court on Tuesday that ordinary people struggled to recognise the symptoms of cardiac arrest. But in submissions to the virtual hearing, the Football Association (FA) argued making training obligatory could exclude children from refereeing. The original inquest into Adam's death heard a defibrillator was brought on to the pitch, but no-one used it to save his life because there was confusion as to whether it was safe to use. The FA offers a free, online module "designed to help recognise a sudden cardiac arrest and respond appropriately", according to its website. At Tuesday's hearing, Charbit insisted this should be compulsory and extend to all members, including grassroots coaches and referees. She dismissed the FA's concern about child referees potentially having to deliver life-saving care, saying: "The responsibility for first aid lies with all ages within society." Charbit also said difficulties for the FA in training 185,000 coaches were outweighed by the number of lives that could be saved. Adam was playing football on 31 January 2024 when he collapsed during the second half. Adam was playing football on 31 January 2024 when he He died in hospital on 4 February that year, after it was found he had suffered unsurvivable brain damage. Charbit ruled a failure to spot Adam was suffering from cardiac arrest "more than minimally" contributed to his death. Matt Bloomfield, who was Wycombe Wanderers' manager when Adam died, previously said he was "deeply shocked" by what happened A view of Adams Park, the Wycombe Wanderers football ground, with the club's crest in the foreground The evidence led to her composing a prevention of future deaths report, the details of which she outlined on Tuesday. In it, she said both ordinary people and ambulance call handlers had difficulty recognising the symptoms of cardiac arrest and agonal breathing, a symptom experienced by Adam. "Although there was training given, and some of those on the pitch were trained, there was still a misidentification of Adam's agonal breathing by those on the pitch and those receiving the 999 call," Charbit said. She said she hoped the report would prevent similar deaths. Do you have a story suggestion for Beds, Herts or Bucks? Contact us below. Are running for political office, have you held political office or have you been involved in a political or campaigning organisation in the last 10 years? Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. A smiling young man wearing a Wycombe Wanderers football kit. Footballer, 17, dies after cardiac arrest signs missed Adam Ankers died in hospital after becoming ill during a football match Wycombe rename ground for weekend in memory of fan Club leads tributes to promising teenage footballer The amount paid for the civic building, on the market for £5m, is not disclosed. Norman Case's family say he had dropped his two children at a school bus stop before the crash. The three-year-old boy is in a life-threatening condition in hospital, police say. A large provider of public defibrillators in Yorkshire is concerned about changes in their use. Spencer Stevenson says he owes his life to Hollie Page, who gave him CPR at a London railway station. Neal MacGillivray, from Alsager, was at work in June 2025 when he suffered the heart attack. A resuscitation charity says women are less likely than men to get CPR from a bystander. Ken Christy, 63, says he will be "forever thankful" for the care he received after a cardiac arrest.