The tragic death of Billy Vigar, a 21-year-old footballer who sustained a fatal brain injury after colliding with a concrete barrier during a match, has raised serious concerns over safety standards in non-league football. The incident, which occurred on 20 September 2025 during an Isthmian Premier League match at Wingate & Finchley, has led to a renewed outcry for better protections for players.
Vigar’s family and the wider football community mourn the loss of a promising young player, especially one so beloved in both his local community and at Arsenal’s youth academy. While the exact cause of death is still under investigation, early reports suggest the collision with a concrete perimeter wall, a common feature at many non-league grounds, was a contributing factor.
This tragic event has shone a spotlight on the long-standing issue of inadequate safety measures in the National League system. Alex Fletcher, a former player who survived a similar accident in 2022, has been vocal about the lack of response from the Football Association (FA) despite his own experience of crashing into concrete hoardings, which left him with permanent injuries. Fletcher’s calls for a review of pitch boundaries and safer materials have, so far, gone unanswered.
The FA’s response to Vigar’s death was to announce a review of safety standards around perimeter walls and boundaries at National League grounds. However, many within the non-league community, including club officials and former players, have expressed frustration over the slow progress in implementing change. Some argue that the FA’s reliance on clubs and local authorities to ensure safety is inadequate, particularly when players are the ones directly affected by the design of the grounds.
The minimum run-off requirement for pitches in the National League system is currently 1.83 meters, a distance that Fletcher and others argue is too small for players to safely stop when competing at high speeds. They suggest increasing this buffer zone and replacing rigid barriers with more flexible, safer materials that would absorb impact rather than cause injuries. Several clubs, like Wingate & Finchley, have already pledged to install safety padding around their grounds, but these are seen as short-term fixes to a broader problem that requires systemic change.
Despite the FA’s review of stadiums and ongoing discussions, the situation remains unresolved, leaving players and clubs frustrated by the lack of meaningful action. The government has now intervened, announcing plans to review the safety standards at sports venues nationwide, with the aim of preventing further tragedies. As Billy Vigar’s family continues to grieve, the football community is left questioning why it took a fatal accident to bring these issues to the forefront of the FA’s agenda.
