Different colour referee kit
- Thread starter Redref34
- Start date
If a team has a black kit because their senior team plays at a level that allows it they should know that they are required to provide the match officials with an alternative coloured kit. For example, at professional academies and in the FA Youth Cup. Below is the specific rule from the FA Youth Cup rules ...
Prior to the Competition Proper the colours of the players’ kit must not clash with the black and white uniform worn by the Match Officials. In the Competition Proper, where there is a clash of colour between the Match Officials’ uniform and the players’ kit, the Match Officials may, with the prior approval of The Association, change to an alternative colour Referees shirt. The alternative shirts must be supplied by the Club whose kit is the cause of the clash.
ChasObserverRefDeveloper
Regular Contributor
Presumably league rules require the visiting team to change their kit(?)Here in Scotland I have a black kit and a yellow kit, today the match was all black team vs yellow team. Sods law!
Put a bib on myself, at the end of the day I referee as I just want to see people playing football on a sunday afternoon
mctones
Member
To confuse matters, if it is a league or league cup match the home team must avoid any clashes with other team or officials and wear their ‘away’ kit, if it is a Scottish FA Cup match, the away team must change.
Only if they clash with the opposition team. Another day, they have a ref who has colours that doesnt clash.
For the record most officials here will likely have some variation if black, purple, red, yellow, green and blue.
ChasObserverRefDeveloper
Regular Contributor
LOTG say teams must wear colours that don't clash with opposing team or match officials, so competition rules should incorporate that fact.
Sure but its here its likely officials will decide which colour they are wearing to avoid clashing with the teams.
In mctones case, they could have asked one of the teams if they had an alternative kit. Not sure if they checked kit colours before match day or found out on day of match.
Never seen any official here ask as we normally have something that doesn’t clash
LothianRef
Member
Yeah because we're not limited to a "you must wear black" rule it's less of an issue for those of us north of the border
Yoda_72
New Member
Bang on what’s on here… You stay in black and they change or wear bibs. Simple’s…
socal lurker
RefChat Addict
Methinks that if refs stuck to their guns and made teams wear bibs when they improperly have black kits, fewer would “forget” that black isn’t allowed . . .
ChasObserverRefDeveloper
Regular Contributor
Problem with players with bibs is the officials don't know which player is wearing which number.
The league supplies you with kit? That's an important difference you can't just gloss over - we pay for our own kit here. Keeping costs down for new referees is important for recruitment, and mandating one colour that's reserved for referees so they only have to buy 1 top rather than 5 is a good way of doing that.
We asked for kit for years and they supplied us for the first time. We dont get kit every year. We buy our own usually but a lot of teams are starting to wear black so we had to buy 2/3 kits for years until this season
Macca
Active Member
Not in my league in Ireland. We always buy our own, and I typically wear one colour jersey to a match but bring another 2.
I mean, I think this is just another argument in favour of reserving black for officials?
Your league failed to do it, it started becoming expensive for referees and the league then faced the choice between paying to kit out their officials vs losing some.
If I was in a position to influence this decision with my CFA, I couldn't think of a more perfect case study!