Monday 19 November 2018 18:29, UK
The daughter of former West Brom and England star Jeff Astle has "begged" members of the Professional Footballers' Association to support its chairman Ben Purkiss' attempt to oust chief executive Gordon Taylor.
Dawn Astle, whose father died in 2002 of a degenerative brain disease, has repeatedly clashed with Taylor over the union's response to the growing evidence which suggests that disease is linked to heading the ball.
Last year, the PFA finally agreed to commit £100,000 for research into the matter, but this was less than five per cent of Taylor's 2017 pay of £2.2m and less than one per cent of its annual income of nearly £28m.
Those huge discrepancies are just two of the issues Purkiss has raised since becoming PFA chairman last November.
In a tweet sent last week, the 34-year-old Walsall defender wrote he has a "duty to act in the best interests of the PFA" and "sometimes you have to make a stand for what is right". He added that football and footballers are "rapidly evolving and the PFA needs to evolve too".
With this in mind, the law graduate has called for an independent review of the union and, according to reports, this call has been backed by more than 200 former and current players.
PFA members received a WhatsApp message this weekend asking for them to back Purkiss' call for an election of a new chief executive.
The message, which was seen by Sky Sports News, reads: "You may have seen that Ben Purkiss (PFA Chairman) has called for an Independent Review of the PFA. We are backing his call and would like to also call for a fair and democratic election of *a new* PFA Chief Executive.
"Throughout our careers we have never had a vote and this has to change. The PFA needs to be open and accessible to all. Every player should know when and how to vote and the PFA must be run by people willing to be open, transparent and democratic.
"We call for Gordon Taylor to step down and allow the PFA to modernise and evolve.
"Please can you support this call for an independent review and democratic election by agreeing to add you name in support of these requests.
"The futures of all former current and former players depend on us having a fair, democratic and transparent union.
"If you can text or email me back to confirm your support, I will add your name to our letter which is gathering pace and numbers. Thank you."
The PFA, on the other hand, issued a statement on Friday questioning Purkiss' right to union membership, and therefore his eligibility to be chairman, as he is not under contract at Walsall.
Astle said: "I would ask, no, beg, all PFA members to fully support what Ben is trying to do.
"The PFA needs reform and it needs to have people in charge who really care about the most important issues facing players, and dementia is one of those."
Sky Sports News has contacted Taylor for comment.
