Jermaine Jenas slammed the "ridiculous" decision for Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand to play on after a bruising collision with one of his teammates against England.
The 30-year-old stopper endured a nightmare start to his World Cup in Qatar after flying into Majid Hosseini, whilst attempting to tip away a dangerous cross from England captain Harry Kane. The two players collided with a thump and both hit the floor.
Hosseini received just brief treatment from the Iran medical staff with his goalkeeper having clearly come off worse. He was given lengthy attention on the floor as blood was mopped from his face - his nose had taken the brunt of the hit.
Bafflingly, after ten minutes of treatment, Beiranvand was given a new shirt and put his gloves back on as the game restarted. He did not last particularly long though as doctors were called back onto the pitch and he was then taken off on a stretcher to be replaced by goalkeeping colleague Hossein Hosseini as a concussion substitute.
Co-commentator Jenas tore into the decision to allow the Iran goalkeeper to continue having watched the incident unfold. He said: “I don’t see how this is right, I really don’t.
“It’s almost like he’s been forced to stay on, it’s ridiculous. It’s the responsibility of the medical team to just make the call, make the decision.
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“We’re at a major tournament in 2022 when we’re constantly talking about concussion in the game, the long-term effects it’s had on players with dementia and stuff. And things like this are happening, still. It’s out of order.”
Jenas' thoughts were echoed by football fans on Twitter watching the game. One particular supporter was left baffled and wrote: "That Iranian goalkeeper definitely has a concussion and he’s unaware of his decisions in moments like this. It’s down to the manager to take him off. What are we watching?"
Other fans continued to question the call as the game continued. One wrote: "That’s diabolical to keep the goalkeeper on there?"
Another also said: "Laughable and totally and utterly shameful that the goalkeeper was even allowed to consider staying on the pitch. We need concussion substitutes."
"Really not a fan of the Iranian goalkeeper continuing, he’s obviously got a concussion, this is ridiculous, ref should force him to go off, definitely shouldn’t be on the pitch," one further fan exclaimed.
