Question Number: 23384

Law 4 - Players Equipment 5/27/2010

RE: Competetive Adult

Al of La Crescent, MN USA asks...

A local soccer rules committee wants to require referees to change from their standard gold jersey when a color conflict arises, and have them wear a contrasting color over their gold jersey. I thought the laws of the game were clear (pg 15). The team(s) must change color. This would seem to put the referee at a disadvantage when working the game (Rec. League U14 and below)if they must change.

Below is the text of the potential rule change:

To provide consideration to the players, referees will change the color of their shirts that are similar in color to the teams playing on the field. IF they do not have another shirt to change in, they will wear a pinney.

One comment from a referee committee member:

I read the rules of the game the same as you do. The teams and refs must wear colors that do not match each other as well as the ref. However what is not clear to me is whose responsibility it is to change colors. So, wouldn't it make more sense applying Law 18, Common Sense, and have 1 person, the ref, change his/her jersey or wear a penny rather than an entire team. I don't remember the last time I saw any game played at any level - high school, college, professional, or international, in which the refs wore a color that matched the teams and the team was required to change their jersey or wear a penny. The ref changes?

Al

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Obviously if teams were always meant to change jerseys when there was a conflict with the referee, we would still be wearing only black ref jerseys. That wasn't the case, so now we have a whole rainbow of colors to choose from.

The Laws imply that it is the responsibility of teams to change: 'The two teams must wear colours that distinguish them from each other and also the referee and the assistant referees.' USSF Advice to Referees states it more firmly in section 4.1: 'All players must wear jerseys or shirts that distinguish them from the referee and assistant referees. If the colors are the same, the players, not the referees, must change.' The first paragraph of section 5.1 tells what to do about color conflicts:
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5.1 REFEREE UNIFORM
Referees may wear only the gold primary jersey or the black, blue, red, or green alternate jerseys, and may wear only the approved socks. (The term "primary jersey" means only that this is the color all referees must have. It does not mean that the gold jersey must be worn in preference to other colors.) No other colors will be worn without express permission of the USSF. If the uniform colors worn by a goalkeeper and the referee or by a team (or both teams) and the referee are similar enough to invite confusion, the goalkeeper or the team(s) must change to different colors. Only if there is no way to resolve the color similarity must the referee (and the assistant referees) wear the colors that conflict least with the players.
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At local roots level, it's hard enough to get teams to have contrasting colors, let alone not matching the referees. Our referee association makes it known to the local youth associations that referees' primary color is yellow, and that we do not expect new referees to buy the full set of colors. If the teams wish to wear yellow, there may be a conflict with the referee and they have to live with it. If referees have an alternate color, they may change, but are not required to do so.

The reason you don't see color conflicts at higher levels is because those competition authorities tell the referees ahead of time what colors the teams will be wearing. Does your league want to take on that responsibility? They also pay well enough that a referee can recover the cost of buying the additional uniforms in just a few games. Will this new policy be accompanied by a corresponding increase in referee fees? Or will they be like some high-level competitions, and provide jerseys for the referee?

Wearing a pinney is a very unprofessional look, and should not be considered. If the league is concerned with the color clash, why not have the teams wear the pinneys?

I would simply tell the local association that if they do not wish for you to wear one of your existing ref jersey colors, they can either supply you with another or they can do without your services. You should also make your concerns known to your state referee association.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Since this involves referees and players under the jurisdiction of USSF, we can say unequivocally that it is the players and keepers who are required to change, should there be a color conflict.

Most referees, when presented with a color conflict, will not force the teams to change, but will happily wear one of the several colors available, assuming they 1) have an alternate color that conflicts with neither team and 2) the whole referee team has the same color. Gold is the only one we are 'required' to have, and it is strongly recommended that all referees have at least one alternate, but we are in no way required to carry around the entire spectrum of long and short sleeved shirts in five different colors (unless you do higher level or professional games).

The rule change proposed is ridiculous on its face, as no self respecting referee would be caught dead in a pinney - what a lovely look that would be! Ugh.

Perhaps the league should consider banning gold and black uniforms for the teams, as that would allow for no color conflicts with the required color (gold) for all referees. That seems a much more reasonable, common sense solution which fits with the requirements of the LOTG and with USSF policy.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Referee Al
Local rules should not conflict with the Laws of the Game nor the rules of Member Associations.
This is covered under the Laws of the Game and there is also a directive from the USSF.
Many referees will carry a variety of colours and do his/her upmost to ensure this does not happen when there is no solution to a colour clash.