Theo Walcott has criticised England’s players for ‘forgetting’ about a mascot with dementia before their recent friendly against Wales.
Twenty-two supporters living with the condition were used as mascots for last week’s friendly at Wembley in aid of an Alzheimer’s charity.
They joined both the England and Wales squad to walk out with the players in front of a crowd of more than 78,000 people and accompanied the players for the national anthems.
After half-time both teams returned to the pitch without names on the back of their shirts to symbolise memory loss, one of the most common symptoms of dementia.
It was not the first time the England have joined up with the Alzheimer’s Society and the partnership has raised more than £1.2m for the charity over the past four years.
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The campaign was widely praised as important and emotional by fans but ex-England and Arsenal winger Walcott was ‘frustrated’ by one aspect.
Walcott attended the game to receive his ‘legacy cap’ and says he ‘noticed’ two of the mascots being ‘forgotten’ by the England players during the national anthems.
One of the mascots who was ‘left’, according to Walcott, was in a wheelchair.
‘I’m more of a positive person but let me start with a negative because being at the Wales game, of course it was a friendly and you never know what kind of game you’re going to get,’ he said on The Overlap US.
‘I thought it was a really beautiful moment when I was actually receiving my legacy cap, there was a video about Alzheimer’s and dementia in the game and creating awareness for this, a lot of people suffer from this.
‘They had the beautiful moment where the mascots came out which was amazing, people of the older generation who have come out and the players have walked them off. Amazing moment.
‘However, I did notice during the national anthems that they left two of them, one of them that was in a wheelchair.
‘Basically, they all came out and when the Welsh did their national anthem, they all huddled together and the mascots were all together.
‘The sad bit with England… and it’s not been seen, it’s not been known… people haven’t really seen it because they look at the performance which is fine.
‘However, it really frustrates me when I see the players that will go into something and do they really have awareness? Do they really know what they’re going into? Do they even know about the charities?
‘Sometimes players don’t really understand what they’re doing at times and that’s the frustrating bit. They should be aware because it’s really important to recognise this disease.
Mascot experience ‘incredible’
‘Football has such a wonderful power to connect people. A love of football can last your entire life.
‘And I think for the mascots who are walking out, not only is it going to be so impactful for them and their families, but I think it’s also going to send a real message about dementia.
‘There are 90,000 people living with dementia in London, but there are almost one million people in the UK. It’s the UK’s biggest killer. One in three people born today will be diagnosed with the condition.
‘So it’s incredibly important we raise awareness and help to reduce some of the stigma.’
Matt Hughes-Short, from Alzheimer’s Society, talking to BBC Sport.
‘I don’t like to single out players. However, it just shows the mindset where people and players forget about the person.
‘It was such an interesting and sad moment when I saw the chap in the wheelchair, bless him, who was at the 1966 World Cup final and Sir Geoff Hurst did the video, to say to this gentleman that’s he’s going to be the mascot and he’s obviously in bits.
‘And then [during] the national anthem he’s left, where the England players all huddle up, and that was tough to see because none of the guys were trying to help.
‘I don’t want to dwell on that but I just feel it’s important to recognise: yes, you’re a footballer, however, have a bit of responsibility in looking after the mascots.
‘It doesn’t matter if they’re children, it doesn’t matter if they’re older, and I think that was the one thing that angered me about the whole England journey.
‘You’ve got to realise that the families have seen all this, they will remember it. In that moment, the mascot won’t and that’s the sad truth when you think about it.
‘I don’t want to dwell on that but it was really sad to see. I think the FA should really look at themselves in that sense.
‘They [the FA] have been brilliant, however, a cause like this… I saw it, but no one saw it properly, so it was interesting.’
One of the 22 people living with dementia who came out with the England and Wales teams can no longer remember the experience less than a week later.
Adron, 81, ‘forgot the Wembley experience pretty much straight away’, according to his son, who insisted his family would never forget ‘seeing his face’ before and during the match.
Adron, from Bristol, attended England’s World Cup win in 1966 and received a video message from legendary Sir Geoff Hurst before the game.
His son Darren heartbreakingly revealed his father asked ‘did it really happen?’ after being shown photographs of him walking out with the players at Wembley.
Another of the mascots, Chelsea fan Raymond James, said he felt ‘very proud’ to walk out with the England and Wales players and ‘couldn’t believe it’ when he was invited by Blues captain Reece James.
To find out more about the Alzheimer’s Society click here.
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