TWO weeks ago, national newspapers wrote about Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s excuse for Manchester United only drawing with Bruges in their away Europa league match.

He blamed the ball, stating it was too light.

Until 1966 the Law said the ball must be made of leather and no other material.

Older readers may remember the old leather balls which soaked up the rain, getting heavier as the game went on.

It was then changed to 'leather or any other suitable materials’ without saying what these could be.

Since 2017, the Law has simply said it must be made of a suitable material, but the weight has not changed since the early days and remains between 14 and 16oz at the beginning of the game.

I only know of one referee with a pressure gage, which could also weigh the ball.

I have never seen any other referee even try to weigh the ball, so really any thought that it might have got lighter is only guesswork.

However, under the Law, there is a separate section for competitions organised by FIFA or Confederations such as UEFA, which says the balls must bear a FIFA quality mark or International Match Standard mark.

These marks indicate the balls have been tested to ensure they comply with the minimum requirement of the Law.

I’m sure the Manchester United ball was not too different from those they play with every week and incidentally, identical to the one that Wolves beat Espanyol 4-0 on the same night.

The football is blamed for many other things now.

Heading the ball is said to affect vision.

It’s under investigation as to whether it can lead to Alzheimer’s, as a number of old professional players have suffered from this frightening disease.

In Walking Football, which is for over 50s, heading the ball is not allowed and punished by an indirect free-kick.

The FAs in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland are banning heading training for Under 12s.

In America, heading the ball has long been banned in youth football, claiming 50,000 cases of concussion.