Hull City midfielder Matt Crooks spoke about his experience with football and epilepsy in an interview on talkSPORT this morning ahead of Championship play-off final at Wembley stadium on the weekend.
The professional footballer is raising awareness about epilepsy this National Epilepsy Week (18-24 May), having been diagnosed with the condition himself at age 19.
Thinking back to his diagnosis, he told Epilepsy Action: “I found out I had epilepsy when I was 19, so a bit later in my life. I had a couple of seizures – didn’t really know why. Luckily enough, I was able to get the best support, being a footballer, and found out pretty quickly that I was epileptic.”
Asked by presenters Jeff Stelling and Dean Saunders whether he was ever concerned about his epilepsy affecting his football career, Matt said he was “probably a bit blasé about the whole thing”.
He added: “It wasn’t until I had children myself that I took it a bit more seriously, learned a bit more about the condition and realised how serious it was.”
While he confesses “it’s not something I’d shout from the rooftops”, he told Epilepsy Action he’s “happy to speak about it when I need to”.
“Epilepsy affects my life, my family’s lives, my friends’ lives around me. If I can shed a little bit of light on the condition and do a little bit for the cause, I don’t see why not.”
Throughout his football career Matt explains football clubs he’s played for – including Huddersfield Town, Rotherham United and Middlesborough – have been “great with me”.
He said: “Wherever I’ve been, obviously I’ve had to tell them [about my epilepsy], and I’ve had no problems. My life’s not changed too dramatically – I’ve just got to take my medication and just crack on with life.
“I know everyone’s experience of the condition is different, but I’m fortunate enough to have it controlled under medication.”
Hull City in Championship play-off final
Hull City, the club Matt has played with since 2025 alongside the likes of Joe Gelhardt, Oliver McBurnie and Mohammed Belloumi, is due to play in the Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium this Saturday, 23 May, against Southampton. This high-stakes match will see the winning team enter the Premier League next season.
It will be Matt’s first appearance at Wembley, something he’s been “waiting a long time for”.
“I’ve been professional for a long time now, being 32, and it’s nice to finally get there, somewhere that I’ve wanted to play.
“My kids are at an age now where they can come and watch, and that will be nice as well, to have them in attendance.
“I’m looking forward to it. It’s a big occasion but I’m trying to treat it as normal as possible. Obviously, there’s a big prize at stake so it’s exciting.”
With around 86,000 spectators expected at Wembley Stadium for the Championship play-off final this Saturday, around 860 of them could have epilepsy, making Matt’s openness extremely meaningful in the football community.
If the team is promoted following Saturday’s game, Matt will become the second footballer with known epilepsy to play in the Premier League, alongside former Cardiff City striker Jay Bothroyd.
Missing Memories campaign
The Leeds-born player is also raising awareness of Epilepsy Action’s Missing Memories awareness campaign, launched for National Epilepsy Week. He explained that for him, there are lapses of memory around his seizures.
He said: “I’ve had quite a few seizures now, 15 or 20 maybe in my life, and for me it’s the period before and maybe the next two hours after. I don’t really have any recollection of that time. My body goes into shut-down mode and looks after itself.”
The Missing Memories campaign puts memory problems, which can often accompany epilepsy, in the limelight. For many, it’s a daily frustration, requiring alarms and reminders for daily tasks. For some, it lands them in situations they don’t know how they ended up in.
For others, epilepsy can erase big, once-in-a-lifetime events, such as weddings, holidays, competitions or the birth of their children.
Find out more about the campaign on the Epilepsy Action website.
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