Question Number: 13976

Law 4 - Players Equipment 9/30/2006

franco of Bloomington, IN USA asks...

Okay, I know the main responsibility for a ref is safety and that one of the jobs is to inspect the players equipment. If anything in in the opinion of the referee is determined to be unsafe to a player's own safety or the safety of a opponent the player cannot be allowed to play with that equipment.

Jewelry is determined to be unsafe. Why...because it can cut or damage or injure body and/or cause bleeding, such as long necklaces poking, cutting, or scratching eyes or skin or chipping teeth, bracelets cutting and scratching skin and breaking fingers, piercings can be hit by a ball and tear the skin and cause bleeding, rings can cause damage to skin and be smashed shut on the wearer's finger.

I see this as black and white on safety verses jewelry--cut and dry--but the Law book does not. I wonder if any of you have a hard time with this issue.

The Laws go on to state that jewelry MAY be allowed for medical and for religous matters. Examples I have seen:

Safety alert dog tags- long strong chains with a dog tag, sharp metal piece- In my opinion very dangerous to eyes and skin laceration and to choking since the chain is usually very strong

Safety alert bracelet- bulky and very strong- In my opinion very likely to catch an opponents finger and break it.

WWJD bracelets- Same as above and usually made of strong nylon webbing or rubber band, but is religous in nature

artificial limgs and braces- hard, metal pieces and no feeling for the wearer which means they can accidently or non intentionaly nearly use it as a weapon

I have been criticiced for allowing these and also for not allowing these. I see them as safety issues that do not provide a health concern for the duration of the game for someone to remove a religous article or safety alert jewelry. Is there really a medical threat if a player has a coach, medical person or parent hold their medical jewelry for a duration of a match and then put it back on-all should be aware.

I don't have a clue about the artificial leg I was once faced with a young man playing with an artificial leg. It looked and felt very dangerous to other players, but I let him play. What about knee braces

You can see the look on a kids face when you tell them they must remove that dainty fine gold chain when the kids standing right next to them have on Diabetic dog tags, WWJD arm bands, another has a bulky leg brace and then another has a artificial leg made out of metal and hard plastic...and you say its just for safety reason when everyone knows their hardware is 100 times less likely to do any damage to themselves or an opponent.

One more thing--Is there any rule on the cleat at the end toe or shoe? I hear different things.

Franco

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

You referee in America, Advice to referees discusses what jewelry you must allow. Follow those instructions. Youth soccer usually prohibits casts in any form. Toe cleats have been discussed at US Soccer and it's in writing they are not allowed.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Franco,
actually the law is clear if it is unsafe you do not play. If it is medical or religious in nature then it is padded tapped or wrapped to an extent it poses no immediate danger if it is dangerous then they do not play. Jewlery is a arbitrary adornment uneeded and a personal choice this other stuff is not.
As to prosthetic limbs, generally special league bylaws cover the rights of those individuals to play. That does not mean a player with a hook for a hand will be allowed to play. As a referee you must be comfortable that the player does not pose a unacceptable risk and the prosthetic is not used inappropriately, the teams playing are both aware of the situation and the league policy covers these situations.
Wheelchair athletes are definately hard done by, it is difficult to integrate slide tackling with normal play and not all wheel chairs do well on soft ground. However disabled youth do like to compete and with some rule alterations charity or fun matches are possible. Wrapped foam casts, padded braces there are regulations in various leagues about what is and what is not permiitted however Modern protective equipment such as headgear, facemasks, knee and arm protectors made of soft, lightweight, padded material are not considered to be dangerous and are therefore permitted
Still it is in the opinion of the referee as to what is safe ,the type of boots made for soccer likely conform to a FIFA standard but baseball cleats or with toe cleats are often banned by the league to begin with. Check local regulations
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

Check out the specific local policies. As referee Fleischer pointed out casts are usually not allowed in youth soccer. Jewlrey is not allowed period.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Medical alerts, while allowed must be mad safe. A medical alert tag hanging from the neck is not safe. these should be taped to the wrist and made as safe as possible. Casts are generally not allowed by the State governing bodies in youth soccer. As to the rest, I and my collegues do not find it difficult to enforce Law 4. Common sense prevails in most instances. Braces are commonplace. So are eyeglasses. 99.99% of referees will allow either. Whether or not an item is safe is up to the referee.

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