The Football Association has issued an apology after a video was posted on the FA Cup TikTok account shedding light on Macauley Southam-Hales’ head-first collision with a billboard.
The now-deleted video was set to music with the word “crunch” timed to make an impact.
The 26-year-old Stockport County full-back was taken to hospital following the incident but was later cleared after a CT scan.
An FA spokesman said the video should never have been released.
“The position was created by an external agency and we will be reviewing our processes to ensure this does not happen again,” the FA added.
The incident happened in Wednesday’s FA Cup tie against Charlton, which Stockport won 3-1.
The TikTok video was set to the theme of a 1980s “That’s why I love Nestle Crunch” advertisement, featuring the impact of Southam-Hales with the hoarding accompanied by a thump and shouting.
In an update on Thursday, Stockport said Southam-Hales performed insufficient scans which showed no signs of permanent damage, despite the head swelling.
And despite wearing a neck brace, Southam-Hales could still be fit to play in Rochdale on Saturday.
Luke Griggs, chief executive of brain injury charity Headway, said the video showed the FA needed to take brain health more seriously.
“We are speechless after seeing the heinous video posted on TikTok by the FA. Sharing a video shedding light on someone with a head injury is frankly incredible,” he added.
“TikTok is a platform primarily used by younger generations, many of whom will look to the example set by the FA. What they will learn from this stunt is that it’s funny when a head injury sporting occurs, and not something to be worried about.
“This irresponsible post risks undermining all the hard work that has been done to provide brain health education. It is clear to us that there is a long way to go before the FA finally takes brain health seriously.”
The incident happened a month after Bath City’s Alex Fletcher had brain surgery following a collision with a palisade.
