A coroner has ruled that a full inquest must be held into the death of England's 1966 World Cup winner Nobby Stiles, after a court heard he died with a traumatic brain injury. The former Manchester United midfielder died in 2020 aged 78 with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a condition associated with repeated head impacts such as heading a football. The ruling matters because it feeds into a wider legal and scientific dispute over whether football authorities failed to protect players from long-term brain harm.

Chris Morris, area coroner for Greater Manchester South, said an inquest was required after neuropathologist Dr Daniel du Plessis examined Stiles's brain and medical records, concluding his cause of death was Alzheimer's disease, contributed to by high-stage CTE and other conditions. Stiles's death had not originally been reported to the coroner and was only investigated after his family came forward; a full hearing is due on Wednesday. His son John, who leads Football Families for Justice, is among dozens suing the FA, FAW and EFL for alleged negligence, while the FA argues the science linking heading to permanent damage is unproven; the case echoes the earlier inquest into ex-defender Gordon McQueen, also diagnosed with CTE.