ANDY PAYTON: CELTIC STAR’S DEMENTIA BATTLE SERVES AS A WARNING TO US ALL
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- May 6
- 3 min read
Amidst all the bluster over the last few days following the latest Glasgow Derby, a far more important story has largely slipped under the radar.
English striker Andy Payton, who played for Celtic in the early 90s, but is perhaps best known to the average football fan for his goalscoring exploits at Burnley has revealed he is battling dementia.
At the time of writing, he is only 57 years old.
Andy Payton the Latest in a Long Line of Celtic Stars to Develop Dementia
Andy’s particular form of dementia is early onset, however both he and his doctor are convinced that football is the cause.
Speaking to The Daily Mail over the weekend, Andy said: “The neurologist who did my scan said there are 68 tracts in the brain and 27 of mine are damaged.
“That’s half the brain that’s damaged.
Andy’s neurologist was also in no doubt as to the cause. He continued: “The neurologist said it’s from football; there’s no other thing it can be.”
In recent years, Celtic have lost club legends like Billy McNeill, Stevie Chalmers and most recently Bertie Auld to this horrific, degenerative neurological disease.
The wider Scottish football community has also lost both Jimmy Calderwood and the iconic Denis Law to dementia in the last few months.
The first prominent public case of football-related dementia was the former England striker Jeff Astle. Despite playing at the 1970 World Cup, younger generations of football fans probably remember Astle most fondly for his comedic turn as a singer on Fantasy Football League back in the 90s.
Astle passed away in 2002 at the age of 59. His was the first confirmed case of dementia-related death due to the trauma caused by heading a football.
However, Astle played his football in the 60s and 70s. Balls were significantly heavier then, especially during wet or muddy conditions.
However, Andy Payton’s case shows that modern footballers can also be susceptible to this type of brain trauma. Another prominent case is the former Aberdeen striker Dean Windass.
Windass is two years older than Payton and was confirmed to have stage two dementia in January of this year.
There may be many more footballers out there, perhaps some even still playing, who have the early stages of this condition and don’t know about it.
In recent years a number of reforms have been introduced to footballing best practices across Europe to combat this worrying trend.
Among those, are a major reduction in the number of heading drills during training, using balls with a lower air pressure during training, and limiting heading of the ball for younger players where possible.
Concussion protocols, introduced after similar incidents in the American NFL have also been adopted by both FIFA and UEFA in recent years.
Hopefully, these changes will see a reduction in dementia cases among footballers.
However, a study published in 2023 revealed that even modern day footballers still have a 50% higher risk of developing the condition than ordinary members of the public.
I’m sure Celtic are keeping on top of this situation and monitoring new research as it becomes available.
In the meantime, though, I hope the club will reach out to former players like Andy Payton and give them any help they can. We often talk about the importance of “The Celtic Family”. It’s in times like this, that family matters most.
Andy, we’re all thinking of you mate. We wish you and your family the very best for the battles that lie ahead.
With research expanding all the time, someday, somehow, someone is going to beat this horrible disease. Here’s hoping it’s you.
