Question Number: 22747

Law 4 - Players Equipment 1/22/2010

RE: School Under 13

Brianna of Anaheim, California United States asks...

My coach got us soccer socks that are tye-dyed and red.She wants us to wear them to the game, is that leagal? Tye-dye socks that are red?

Answer provided by Referee Tom Stagliano

Brianna

You note that this question is for School Under 13, and therefore is for Middle School soccer, which for most of the United States is played under the NFHS rules.

Under NFHS rules the players' socks Must be One Dominant color. If red is the dominant color and the rest of the sock is merely various shades of Red, then they are fine.

HOWEVER, per NFHS rules, The Home team Must wear Light colored jerseys and socks and the Visiting team Must wear dark colored jerseys and socks. Therefore, those Red socks you describe may only be worn to Away games.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

Yes, the tie-dyed soccer socks are legal - even the red ones!

Under the laws of the game, socks don't have to be any particular color but by tradition, the two socks should match. If you were looking for an excuse not to wear them, you could point out that no two tie-dye socks ever match. I suspect you won't win that argument with your coach!

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Brinna
The only person that can really answer this is the referee on the day of the game. On the face of it I see nothing wrong with these socks. However if the referee decides on the day that the socks do not meet the requirement of the relevant NFHS law or does not like the non tradional nature of them then that's all that matters. I recall a question about knee length shorts that a referee did not allow in a game even though they were the same colour as other team mates. Nothing in the law about that and the players had to change into the tradional shorts.
The only definite requirement is that the socks are long enough to cover the shinguards. I also recall a question about socks being so long that players wanted to put the shinguards inside the sock turnover and then tape it which the referee did not allow either. This was at Ulittles though.
Also in games I have seen gamesmanship between teams on colour clashes where before the game an argument erupts about sock/short colour clash with one team being forced to change. If the opponents are wearing white socks say, might they complain to the referee about colour?
I also note in the NFHS Laws that the home team must wear light coloured uniforms while the away team must wear dark?
The fact that you have asked the question prompts me to say that my advice to the coach is until the socks have been used a number of times with different referees' approval I would have a spare set on hand just in case he/she is unhappy that they do not meet his/her requirements. That will save a lot of hassle pre match if a change is requested.