Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

English league legend’s backing for Frank’s Law

Chesterfield legend Ernie Moss showing his support for Frank's Law.
Chesterfield legend Ernie Moss showing his support for Frank's Law.

An English football league legend who is battling a rare form of dementia has given his backing for Frank’s Law.

Chesterfield’s all-time record goalscorer Ernie Moss enjoyed three spells at his hometown club over an 18-year period, from 1968 to 1986 and scored 192 goals for the Spireites.

Moss was diagnosed with Pick’s Disease, a type of frontotemporal dementia caused by the destruction of nerve cells in the brain, which affects his memory and communication.

Proof is difficult, but his family, friends and former team-mates are convinced this early onset of dementia is related to heading the ball as often as he did throughout a 20-year career of 749 games.

The widow of Dundee United legend Frank Kopel suspects his dementia was likely caused by years spent heading a hard leather ball.

Concussions, possibly as his brain still grew, may have caused chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a condition usually found in boxers.

Mrs Kopel said it was “fantastic” to see Mr Moss wearing his Frank’s Law T-shirt and giving his support to the campaign.

promo_franks_law_full

She also urged people to get behind his daughter Nikki’s charity spectacular between Chesterfield FC legends and TV celebrities.

It will raise money for the Once Upon a Smile charity, which helps bereaved families at their time of need, and Dementia UK.

Nikki, 41, said: “It’s harrowing and such a cruel disease.

“I think dad can remember his days as a footballer – but his language skills are deteriorating rapidly so he can’t talk about them.

“The fact he can’t speak properly anymore is really difficult for me as I always used to enjoy having banter with my dad.”

Ernie Moss represented nine different clubs, making 749 Football League appearances, and many more as he played on in non-league, but it was at Chesterfield, his hometown club where he is a legend, and the record scorer with 191 goals in three spells at the club.

When the North Derbyshire club enjoyed their most glorious moments, he was usually around: for promotion in 1970 and 1985 and the Anglo-Scottish Cup win in 1981, when Chesterfield overcame Rangers on the way to winning the obscure trophy.

His love for the game continued in to management where, after an assistant role at Boston United, he held the hot seat at five different non-league clubs over 12 years, including Gainsborough Trinity, Matlock and Hucknall Town.

Mrs Kopel’s husband died in April 2014 having been diagnosed with dementia in 2009, when he was aged just 59.

He and his wife paid about £300 a week so he could have personal care in his Kirriemuir home because he did not reach the qualifying age for free services until weeks before his death.

Mrs Kopel is urging ministers to close the loophole – a bid The Courier is backing.