Clash of the toe-tans

It’s not a good moment at all for the Women’s game. One of the biggest televised games of the season and somebody drops this huge ricket.

Credit to the officiating team for catching this early and not waiving it through because of all the external pressures.

The lesson in this for us is kit checks do matter. And the clubs are responsible

Team sheets often only cover the shirts, not shorts or socks. I would hope this isn't the case at WSL level but I don't know what is on that team sheet.

I refereed a cup final involving Arsenal women and the socks clashed with the opponents. Neither team had a change and both said they were happy with it, so all I could really do was make it clear that I'd be guessing when making a decision after two players had played the ball.

In one of the youth leagues I used to ref on, 8 out of 10 teams wore Black shorts and socks, used to be a bit of a nightmare at times!

For a professional club to make this kind of mistake, especially a Premier League club when playing one of their biggest rivals, is inexcusable really. Barring few years in the late 80s/early 90s, Chelsea have worn white socks at home for circa 60 years, so it's not like Arsenal didn't know.

Kind of funny though that their solution to the issue was to buy socks from their rivals megastore

Mooseybaby said:

In one of the youth leagues I used to ref on, 8 out of 10 teams wore Black shorts and socks, used to be a bit of a nightmare at times!

For a professional club to make this kind of mistake, especially a Premier League club when playing one of their biggest rivals, is inexcusable really. Barring few years in the late 80s/early 90s, Chelsea have worn white socks at home for circa 60 years, so it's not like Arsenal didn't know.

Kind of funny though that their solution to the issue was to buy socks from their rivals megastore

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Massive blunder.

If the team I support came out wearing our rivals socks. It would be chaotic (Celtic / Rangers).

Everyone and their dog is cutting their socks. Surely you cut the rivals badge off with a pair of scissors the physio team have.

Just embarrassing and I feel sorry for the ladies getting let down.

RustyRef said:

Team sheets often only cover the shirts, not shorts or socks. I would hope this isn't the case at WSL level but I don't know what is on that team sheet.

I refereed a cup final involving Arsenal women and the socks clashed with the opponents. Neither team had a change and both said they were happy with it, so all I could really do was make it clear that I'd be guessing when making a decision after two players had played the ball.

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Depends where I guess, but like you said, we don't know exactly what's on the team sheet.

Where I am, including the women's league, the regional second division outlines the Friday before the round starts (to all clubs) what they're wearing, as well as the referee. This stems down, as far as I'm aware, all the way down to the U13s top level in the state. So I'd like to hope that England's top flight womens division does this.
GKs get free reign (until the referee says something on matchday - policy is not to worry about GK's kits clashing with eachother until finals/cup games/end of the season when you're more likely to get keepers rushing up for a last minute corner).


Just an extra point from the article:
I mean, the game was at your home ground, and the away team went and bought your team's socks and applied tape to cover up your logo. Wouldn't it have been easier for Chelsea to wear said socks if they were bought?

WiisardNic said:

I mean, the game was at your home ground, and the away team went and bought your team's socks and applied tape to cover up your logo. Wouldn't it have been easier for Chelsea to wear said socks if they were bought?

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Why should they? They haven't made the mistake, Arsenal did, why would they mess up their own preparation by sending someone to the shop and then getting the players to change socks minutes before kick off? It would probably also cause them issues as then the players would have white under socks under blue socks.

Everyone assumed that they would have their away kit at the ground, but most clubs have their laundry facilities at the training ground, and getting them from Cobham to Kingsmeadow on a Friday evening with traffic would have taken an age.

My game yesterday, we are all wearing black socks & shorts!

Few year's back I asked away team to apply white tape to their black socks, their was a local hardware store at the end of the road where they bought some tape, yesterday didn't do anything. Significant local game, cup semi-final with neutral assistants.

Anyone one, taking an alternative view in grass roots football?

RustyRef said:

Why should they? They haven't made the mistake, Arsenal did, why would they mess up their own preparation by sending someone to the shop and then getting the players to change socks minutes before kick off? It would probably also cause them issues as then the players would have white under socks under blue socks.

Everyone assumed that they would have their away kit at the ground, but most clubs have their laundry facilities at the training ground, and getting them from Cobham to Kingsmeadow on a Friday evening with traffic would have taken an age.

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I agree that it's not on them, but why is the manager making comments like ""It's so easy to have a dig but I'm gutted for him. If we had a change of socks then I would have put them on for us," if they were in the same boat re: obtaining different socks.

WiisardNic said:

I agree that it's not on them, but why is the manager making comments like ""It's so easy to have a dig but I'm gutted for him. If we had a change of socks then I would have put them on for us," if they were in the same boat re: obtaining different socks.

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Because managers play mind games, they will say one thing and mean another. Remember that Emma Hayes was previously at Arsenal, so perhaps she has a personal connection with the person that made the mistake so wanted to avoid chucking him or her under the bus as much as possible.

It is also somewhat irrelevant as they didn't have a change of socks, Arsenal had to go and buy them from the club shop. If you were a football manager about to kick off the game would you really agree to going back into the changing room to change your socks? I don't think many would, they would want the other team to do it whilst they kept out on the pitch warming up to get the advantage.

RustyRef said:

Because managers play mind games, they will say one thing and mean another. Remember that Emma Hayes was previously at Arsenal, so perhaps she has a personal connection with the person that made the mistake so wanted to avoid chucking him or her under the bus as much as possible.

It is also somewhat irrelevant as they didn't have a change of socks, Arsenal had to go and buy them from the club shop. If you were a football manager about to kick off the game would you really agree to going back into the changing room to change your socks? I don't think many would, they would want the other team to do it whilst they kept out on the pitch warming up to get the advantage.

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From my experience with coaches. This is 100% true, they aren't going to accommodate in anyway if the other side have made the mistake.