LONDON - One in four professional footballers said they suffer symptoms of anxiety and depression in a new study into the sports largely unexplored "dark side" of mental illness. The mental health of recently retired professional footballers was even more worrisome, with one in three reporting signs of anxiety and depression. Some 300 current and former professionals — from the Netherlands, Major League Soccer, Scotland, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand — took part in the study for the players union, FIFPro. While football can draw on reams of scientific study about players physical injuries, little research has previously been done into their mental health, and mental health problems have remained very much taboo in the sport, FIFPro chief medical officer Vincent Gouttebarge said. "There is definitely some dark side of professional football," he said in an interview. "We dont talk about mental health issues in football, or we didnt talk about this issue," he added. "Its quite a macho culture so people do not talk about it." Gouttebarge said the studys findings suggest that professional footballers are no less prone to mental illness than other younger people in the general population. He said that might surprise fans who believe footballers live comfortable, worry-free lives, with media attention often focusing on the wealth of the most successful players. "Contrary to what people think, professional footballers experience psychological problems just like other groups in the population," Gouttebarge said. Among the 180 active footballers who responded to the lengthy questionnaire, 10 per cent reported symptoms of distress, five per cent reported signs of burnout and three per cent said they suffered from low self-esteem. Nearly 20 per cent reported problems with alcohol, which Gouttebarge said could include binge drinking and regularly drinking too much, and seven per cent said they smoked. The 121 former professionals who responded on average had 12-year playing careers and have been retired for five years. Fifteen per cent showed signs of burnout and 18 per cent signs of distress. One in three reported drinking problems, 12 per cent smoked, and 39 per cent reported suffering from depression and anxiety. Gouttebarge said that could include worrying, mood swings, difficulties sleeping, feeling stressed, not being sociable or a combination of symptoms. "Mental illness seems to occur among former professional footballers more often than in current players, and more often than in other populations. Consequently, mental illness among former professional footballers cannot be underestimated and should be a subject of interest for all stakeholders in football," the study said. Retirement was "really a critical period," with players abruptly losing the structure of regular training and the support of being in a club, Gouttebarge said. "You have to find a new life," he said. "It can put you under a lot of stress." Long-term injuries and surgeries that take players out of the game and away from close, regular contact with teammates can also be factors in mental health problems. Being forced to stop playing professionally because of injury or because clubs wont offer another contract can be particularly hard to cope with, Gouttebarge noted. "This has been recognized in other sports as a huge cause of mental health issues," he said. "The guy who is willing to retire or to stop his career is really (in) a different kind of situation to the one who is forced to retire." He called the study "a good first step" toward identifying the scope of mental health issues in football. The survey is expanding to players in France and from French-speaking nations in Africa, with plans to also study players in Spanish-speaking countries and Japan, Gouttebarge said. Patrick Weigel Jersey . FIFA said the suspension was requested by ethics prosecutor Michael Garcia, making Beckenbauer the first person to be punished as a result of the case. Beckenbauer refused "repeated requests for his assistance, including requests that he provide information during an in-person interview or in response to written questions provided in both English and German," FIFA said in a statement. Ender Inciarte Jersey .The third-seeded Murray, who won here in 2009, will face seventh-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa next on the indoor hard court. https://www.cheapbraves.com/423o-josh-tomlin-jersey-braves.html .S. Basketball Writers Association. McDermott, who finished his career at Creighton as college basketballs fifth-leading scorer, accepted the honour from Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson at AT&T Stadium, site of the Final Four. Hank Aaron Jersey . Coaches are now allowed to challenge both called and potential defensive pass interference fouls under certain conditions. Josh Tomlin Braves Jersey . Vinci also beat Dulgheru last week in Bucharest en route to her first WTA final in a year. Vinci next faces sixth-seeded Kurumi Nara of Japan, who beat Czech qualifier Katerina Siniakova 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-2. No.DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Memo Gidley and Matteo Malucelli were admitted to a Daytona Beach hospital Saturday night for further testing following a two-car accident right before the three-hour mark of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. IMSA officials said both drivers were awake and communicating, but gave no other information about their conditions. Gidley was driving for the pole-winning GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing team. He had to be cut out of the No. 99 Corvette, which crumpled like an accordion when he plowed into the back of Malucellis Ferrari. The cars were heading into the kink in the infield portion of the track facing directly into the sun. Malucellis car had apparently lost power -- his team said he radioed he was pulling out of the way -- as the cars headed into a high-speed turn. At the same time, Gidley tried to lap a slower car. He pulled out to the left and tried to duck under the lapped car, apparently didnt see Malucelli off the pace, and drove directly into the Ferrari at nearly full speed. The race was red-flagged as emergency workers tended to both drivers. They were placed onto stretchers, loaded into ambulances and taken to Halifax Health Medical Center, located roughly a mile outside the race track. "This stuff, it happens, its racing. But you never expect it to be your car, your team," said Gidley teammate Darren Law. Olivier Beretta, Malucellis teammate on the Risi Competizione team, saw a replay of the accident and wondered if the glare played a role in the wreck. "Its difficult to say because its the sun going down, and in this corner you dont see very well," Beretta said. "I dont know. I honestly dont know. The most important thing right now is Matteo, the rest I dont care. Its just Matteo and the other driver." Many drivers inquired about Gidleys condition. Christian Fittipaldi passed by the accident scene before the race was stopped and was concerned for Gidleys well-being. "At that point, conditions were really hard. The sun was setting. There were two points on the track where you couldnt see anything," Fittipaldi said. "One was at start-finish and the other point was coming out of Turn 3 and coming out of the kink. I imagined there was a slow car ahead of him and he couldnt see." The clock ticked off roughly 90 minutes under combined red and yellow flag following the accident before racing resumed. The sun had gone down and the drivers had turned on their headlights by the time the field went green again.dddddddddddd The bizarre accident was yet another disappointment for the GAINSCO team, which was the surprising pole winner Thursday despite limited preseason testing and a thin budget that has the organization planning to run only five of the 13 events in the in the inaugural United SportsCar Championship season. The odds were stacked against the GAINSCO team winning the race -- since 1994 only three pole winners have reached Victory Lane in the twice-around-the-clock endurance event -- but a strong showing would have sufficed. Although the team won the pole in 2007 and finished second in 2008, it has finished no better than seventh since and had DNFs in 2010 and was 89 laps off the pace in 2012. When racing did resume, the event got its feel good moment when Wayne Taylor came out of retirement to briefly get behind the wheel of the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette. The 58-year-old last raced in 2010, in this event, but was talked into driving one stint as an opportunity to join the lineup with sons with Ricky and Jordan. The opportunity came about when Ricky rejoined the team that won the Grand-AM driver championship last season with Jordan Taylor and Max Angelelli. Wayne Taylor, despite his vocal reluctance to do much in the car, seemed to be on pace as he battled Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan. "My Dad just held Tony Kanaan off for two laps. I have a very cool Dad!" Jordan Taylor posted on Twitter. The plan had been for Ricky Taylor, who started the race, to turn the car over to his father. But the driver change came as the sun was setting, and the team decided at the last minute to instead have Angelelli drive second. "When I got out of the car, there was a big glare and he has had trouble with his eyes and his old age," Ricky Taylor said, laughing slightly. "We would like to put him in in the nighttime, and preferably under yellow, because hes also a little on the shorter side. He has a big insert in his seat and we have to get him snug in there tight. We have to loosen our belts up a lot." His sons said their father has been protesting competing in the event, but they believe hes secretly enjoying himself. "After the race he will look back on it and be very happy that we made it happen and that we got through it," Ricky Taylor said. "He is hating it. He doesnt enjoy driving anymore. He always wants to get out of the car. But every time he is finished driving, hes happy." ' ' '