Friend of ex-Arsenal star Billy Vigar backs our marketing campaign after footballer’s tragic demise
Jack Mison called for action to stop any further deaths like his good pal Billy’s, as he throws his support behind Daily Star Sunday’s ‘Balls to Walls’ campaign
A friend of tragic Billy Vigar says he started a petition to see walls taken down from around football pitches because a tragic accident that killed his pal “never happen again”. It comes after the former Arsenal star died after colliding with a wall during a match earlier this year.
Jack Mison said he felt he needed to “do something” following the death of his pal and now has teamed up with the Daily Star Sunday to try and make a difference. The 21-year-old said: “Billy was a top man and everyone loved him.
“We met through friends of friends and would go out and he would always pop in where I worked to grab a protein bar before kick off,” he said of the up-and-coming football star. “It’s the stupid little things that you miss like this.
“I don’t see him anymore on game days,” Jack sobbed. “It makes you remember he’s not here.
“The loss has hit everyone hard. It’s just awful and everyone is understandably struggling to come to terms with it still now.”
Billy died after sustaining a “significant brain injury” during Chichester’s Isthmian Premier League fixture at Wingate & Finchley on September 20 at the age of just 21.
The official cause of death is yet to be confirmed via an inquest, but it is expected that it will be attributed to a collision between Vigar and a concrete perimeter barrier which surrounded the Wingate & Finchley pitch. In the aftermath of the player’s death, the FA announced it would conduct “an immediate review … that will focus on the safety of perimeter walls and boundaries around pitches in the National League System” – from the fifth to the 10th tier.
Jack continued: “We were supposed to be at the game but it was called off when people realised very quickly that it was serious. It was avoidable, that’s the sad thing.
“We have had warnings before with similar incidents, if action had been taken before, Billy might still be here. There’s money in football.
“I just hope that the FA do something, take notice of our petition, and make serious changes. Not only that, but help to finance it — it can’t happen again.”
Meanwhile, Jack’s petition has already managed to bring in just under 17,000 signatures calling for Vigar’s Law to be brought in. In the call for action, Jack said Billy’s death could have been prevented and that footballers do not know how close they are to death due to one small trip.
“Th death of Billy Vigar is a stark reminder that these walls are not merely unsafe — they are lethal,” he said. “Others have suffered broken limbs, spinal injuries and head trauma; each injury was predictable and entirely preventable.”
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