Had it been 1st April, I would have
thought it was one of those April Fool articles that
newspapers try to hoax us with. But no, it was seemingly a
genuine news item: footballers were going to be allowed to
wear headguards. The article even speculated that David
Beckham would be adding to his millions with his own brand,
that would be snapped up by his adoring fans.
Perhaps, I thought, it was in response
to the fears being expressed about the proportionately high
number of ex-professional footballers suffering from
Alzheimer's Disease, believed to be due to constant heading of
the ball. Then it mentioned the information had come from
FIFA.
That reminded me of an article I had
read some time previously, by John Baker, Head of Refereeing
at the FA. He referred to a letter the FA had received from
FIFA last August, concerning the legality of players wearing
non-compulsory equipment. It said that following queries
received from a number of Federations, they had discussed the
subject with the International FA Board, who are responsible
for the Laws of the Game.
The letter pointed out that under the
Powers and Duties of the referee in Law 5, the referee must
ensure that players' equipment meets the requirements of Law
4. So what does Law 4 require?
First of all it says that there are five
basic, compulsory pieces of 'equipment' that players must
wear. These are a shirt or jersey, shorts, socks which the law
calls stockings. This means they must be long socks, because
the fourth compulsory piece of players equipment is
shinguards, which the law says must be entirely covered by the
stockings.
Players often look at me when I tell
them to 'pull their socks up'. I'm not talking about their
game but covering their shinguards. The final piece of
compulsory equipment is footwear. Note, it doesn't say boots.
Much of the footwear worn by footballers today, bear more
resemblance to slippers than boots.
The law calls these five pieces
compulsory, which means they must be worn but it also
describes them as basic, so other items can be added. For
example, many players today wear the so-called cycle shorts,
or thermal undershorts. The law accepts these but says they
should be the same colour as the main colour of the shorts.
Often goalkeepers wear tracksuit bottoms
over their shorts. The other point about Law 4 is that it says
'Players may not wear anything that is dangerous to themselves
or other players, including any jewellery'. The non-
compulsory items that were referred to by FIFA were headbands,
not headguards, there is a subtle difference I think,
facemasks, knee and arm protectors made of soft, lightweight,
padded material. These are obviously not
dangerous and are therefore legal.
I was asked recently whether players
could play in woollen hats, and at my game two weeks ago I had
a player wearing one. Of course they are not dangerous and
with a freezing wind blowing across an open Oxfordshire
countryside, it seemed like a sensible accessory to wear.
Also mentioned in the letter from FIFA
was the wearing of spectacles. Modem technology has made
sports spectacles much safer, but what about ordinary
glasses? I know that young players particularly, can be
frustrated when some referees let them play in them, whilst
others refuse to allow them to be worn. Remembering
that we have to protect players, sometimes against themselves,
there are two things I look at. Are the lens made of glass?
Usually today they are plastic, which reduces any danger. And
secondly, have the frames any sharp edges or dangerous
ornamentation.
It's a simple judgement I think. Players
equipment, whether compulsory or optional must be safe for all
taking part and that would include headguards if anyone wanted
to wear them.
Dick Sawdon Smith