Question Number: 15803

Law 4 - Players Equipment 6/15/2007

RE: various short of pro Adult

ref47 of arlington, va usa asks...

This question is a follow up to question 15789

i side with ref dawson on this one. is the shinguard completely covered? if the answer is yes, then the lotg have been met. sure, as the kid grows it will become a problem. fine, fix it when it needs to be fixed. sooner or later the kid will come to realize that the "traditional" mounting method will work best. and then he will try to move on to the "ace of clubs" as his shin guard.

why be pedantic?

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Why be pedantic? Simple. Because the referee taking this approach invariably sees bits of shinguards showing and pays no attention. The next referee on that team sees is 13, on her third match and trying to do things correctly. She hears "The other ref said it was OK"

Now what? Is you doing it the easy way right for her? I think not, and this happens every weekend. Are we part of the solution or part of the problem. At AskTheRef we try to be part of the solution, yes we offer opinion and yes, sometimes our opinions differ. The bottom line is what is good for all referees best.

Thanks for the comment,

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi ref47,
I coach the littlies and offer advice as well as referee. I understand why other referees prefer their view. I also know as a referee and coach, parent that the method by which I ensure the shin guards are covered by the overly long socks that seem to be the norm at recreational league is the shin guard will not show. We actually pull the sock down over then tuck the ends back up under the shin guard. We use tape or even Velcro.

The referee is NOT the one wearing the apparel so I see no reason to change to satisfy him or her provided the laws are not infringed particularly if the overly long socks will not stay up properly if worn the traditional way!
Given the skinny little legs and the most absurdly poor quality socks that are handed out they create problems especially when wet or lose their elasticity.

While I might disagree with my colleagues, as a functional level all shin guards MUST be covered, if they constantly show they do not play!
Cheers