Wenger supports introduction of uniform medical

LONDON, Aug 31 (Reuters) Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said today he would support the introduction of uniform heart medical checks for all top-level professional footballers following the recent deaths of three players.

Wenger told a news conference he was concerned also that several players chose to continue their careers despite knowing they had potentially life-threatening heart problems.

''I don't know really what happened because some questions have to be raised -- especially with the Sevilla case,'' he said, referring to the death of Spanish international midfielder Antonio Puerta on Tuesday.

''But it looks to me that either the boy didn't know he had a heart problem, and therefore you have to raise the question of a medical, and that of the uniformity of the medical checks, especially for the heart, or the boy knew he had a problem with his heart and took the responsibility to play despite that.

''I have seen that in France, with a player who had a big heart problem and still decided to play. Eventually, he died, during a training (session), but he played until the age of 28.

''And I don't know what really happened in Sevilla, but for me it looks very useful to have at least a uniform heart medical check.'' REUTERS TB RAI2146