Coloured Kits
- Thread starter Darius
- Start date
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Oh no, apparently it's not their problem....
Padfoot
The Persecuted One
What an utter cowardly spineless cop out.....why am I not surprised?
Exactly what is a "small but significant majority"? What makes it "significant"? Are some counties more "significant" than others and therefore are more deserving of consideration?
Absolute ****e again from those purporting to "manage" referees.
Exactly what is a "small but significant majority"? What makes it "significant"? Are some counties more "significant" than others and therefore are more deserving of consideration?
Absolute ****e again from those purporting to "manage" referees.
Russell Jones
RefChat Addict
This is, in my opinion, an absolute disaster waiting to happen. Extra complexity, far greater confusion, greater expense for referees and what on earth is it in aid of??? Is the world really coming to an end because grassroots teams are obliged not to wear black kits?! I thought Trump and Brexit were bad but now the planet has officially gone mad ... 
Hate to say I told you so but ...
So what now happens for referees who operate on leagues across multiple CFAs? One CFA may decide that coloured shirts are allowed and need to be yellow, another may say they are allowed and need to be green, and another may say they are allowed and need to be red. What a mess.
And what about leagues who are affiliated directly to the FA rather than individual CFAs? Any league that spreads over 4 or more CFAs should do this, so where are they left in this situation? As an example, the Spartan South Midlands League operates across London, Essex, Berks & Bucks, Middlesex, Herts, Bedfordshire and Northants. So will be subject to 7 different CFA policies on coloured kits - work that out if you can ...!!
So what now happens for referees who operate on leagues across multiple CFAs? One CFA may decide that coloured shirts are allowed and need to be yellow, another may say they are allowed and need to be green, and another may say they are allowed and need to be red. What a mess.
And what about leagues who are affiliated directly to the FA rather than individual CFAs? Any league that spreads over 4 or more CFAs should do this, so where are they left in this situation? As an example, the Spartan South Midlands League operates across London, Essex, Berks & Bucks, Middlesex, Herts, Bedfordshire and Northants. So will be subject to 7 different CFA policies on coloured kits - work that out if you can ...!!
The unofficial line in Suffolk was we prefer you in black but if there is a colour clash and if you have another shirt which doesnt clash you may wear it. There was then given an example of a ref who has several shirts just in his kit bag. Most counties will keep black as their main colours and I think a common sense view will be taken like the example just given. With lots of grass root refs leaving I cant see any counties deciding to change the default colour which would antagonize alot of refs. My personel opinion is that this allows some discretion and although may seem like just more expense is just making it easier if there happens to be a colour clash. I have an orange top in my bag whichI would wear if a team is in dark blue or black. It cost £10 and it will last years as it may only be worn 4 games per season, meaning my lovely badged up will have 4 less washes extending its life. I would how ever allways start in my black shirt, do all checks then change shirts just before KO so everybody can see that I am badged up.
CapnBloodbeard
RefChat Addict
Oh no! They sky is falling! 
Every league I've refereed in has permitted multiple coloured shirts - usually there are 2 or 3 shirts that are expected.
Each short costs about as much as a match fee, or less.
And given that most referees will want to have a few shirts anyway, why not have it in multiple colours? In that sense it doesn't really add to the expense.
In Australia though, even in winter it's good to have the option of a colour that's cooler than black. Also minimises clashes - some teams have have a 'kinda darkish' blue that may not clash during the day but clash in the reduced contrast of night. Also helps with keepers.
Sure, all that can be averted as long as teams don't wear black, or navy.....or even grey......or oven those black and white strips with a solid back where the number is...............
but it's nice being able to stick your head out, see that one keeper is wearing a navy shirt, so you choose one of your other colours so you don't have to worry about putting a team out.
Sure, it's not perfect. Sometimes not everybody has all the colours, so you'll choose to wear blue when 2/3 of you have black and make the team with blue change, things like that. And of course some referees can be *****s about the colours.
But overall, from everything I've heard on here I've always been really glad that I've had flexibility of colours.
Sky blue is the primary colour in my region, burgundy in my previous region.
Every league I've refereed in has permitted multiple coloured shirts - usually there are 2 or 3 shirts that are expected.
Each short costs about as much as a match fee, or less.
And given that most referees will want to have a few shirts anyway, why not have it in multiple colours? In that sense it doesn't really add to the expense.
In Australia though, even in winter it's good to have the option of a colour that's cooler than black. Also minimises clashes - some teams have have a 'kinda darkish' blue that may not clash during the day but clash in the reduced contrast of night. Also helps with keepers.
Sure, all that can be averted as long as teams don't wear black, or navy.....or even grey......or oven those black and white strips with a solid back where the number is...............
but it's nice being able to stick your head out, see that one keeper is wearing a navy shirt, so you choose one of your other colours so you don't have to worry about putting a team out.
Sure, it's not perfect. Sometimes not everybody has all the colours, so you'll choose to wear blue when 2/3 of you have black and make the team with blue change, things like that. And of course some referees can be *****s about the colours.
But overall, from everything I've heard on here I've always been really glad that I've had flexibility of colours.
Sky blue is the primary colour in my region, burgundy in my previous region.
Paul March
Well-Known Member
You can get addidas ref shirts for less than 10 on eBay. Badges are easy to get hold of.
The one extra colour seems a sensible compromise.
The one extra colour seems a sensible compromise.
If the CFA doesn't sanction the league, then they have no input on the matter.
i'm not a fan of this...been speaking to @Darius about it at length last night arguing!
I think this has come about more from club pressure than refs wanting to wear them which just shows that the FA/RA/leagues are letting the clubs win rather than enforcing the no black / navy rules.
i hate the idea of refs turning up in different colours / shades of kit, it'll look ****e. even though we have different makes of black kit, some with white trim etc, it still always looks smart and consistent.
price is obviously a factor and i certainly can't see clubs providing them (as that'll cause more problems!)...i wear both long and short sleeves depending on the weather, how many kits will i need, 2? 3? 4 or more? will i need to correct coloured undershirts as well? could easily rack up £200 right there.
that said we both agreed that we'll be looking back at this argument in 5 years or so wondering why we didn't do it sooner...once we get past the teething problems of clubs and refs sorting out who's wearing what and who has which kits available i can see it working seamlessly
I think this has come about more from club pressure than refs wanting to wear them which just shows that the FA/RA/leagues are letting the clubs win rather than enforcing the no black / navy rules.
i hate the idea of refs turning up in different colours / shades of kit, it'll look ****e. even though we have different makes of black kit, some with white trim etc, it still always looks smart and consistent.
price is obviously a factor and i certainly can't see clubs providing them (as that'll cause more problems!)...i wear both long and short sleeves depending on the weather, how many kits will i need, 2? 3? 4 or more? will i need to correct coloured undershirts as well? could easily rack up £200 right there.
that said we both agreed that we'll be looking back at this argument in 5 years or so wondering why we didn't do it sooner...once we get past the teething problems of clubs and refs sorting out who's wearing what and who has which kits available i can see it working seamlessly
For now. But as @es1 has said, what about matching undershirts? What about when coloured shorts/socks become a thing? What about when the "expectation" of referees being able to wear black quietly slips away? Or when it becomes standard for us to have 2 or 3 colours, or be employed by multiple CFA's with different spare colours?
And perhaps more importantly than what someone who's already got all the kit he needs thinks, what will a new referee think? I don't want to go through all the maths again, but let's not forget that the official kit sells for around £50 per top. Regardless of if you're getting into refereeing for the money or not, doubling that to £100 is a fairly significant increase of the already significant cost it currently takes to get into refereeing. And we absolutely don't want to be doing any more to put off new referees from giving it a go.
zarathustra
RefChat Addict
I don't see what the big issue is.
The decision has been made, sort of.
If my county decide we can wear coloured kits, and the leagues I officiate on decide to take this up then I will buy some coloured shirts.
Under shirts could be an issue, but only for the purple shirt, yellow and green are easy to come by and not expensive if you steer clear of nike etc.
The issue will be 1) everyone would need to wearestrict the same brand to ensure everyone has the same colours, but the colours chosen would make this decision for us. 2) how often are the colours going to change.
The decision has been made, sort of.
If my county decide we can wear coloured kits, and the leagues I officiate on decide to take this up then I will buy some coloured shirts.
Under shirts could be an issue, but only for the purple shirt, yellow and green are easy to come by and not expensive if you steer clear of nike etc.
The issue will be 1) everyone would need to wearestrict the same brand to ensure everyone has the same colours, but the colours chosen would make this decision for us. 2) how often are the colours going to change.
It's been like this in Scotland for years. All black, or close to all black, team kits are pretty common at grass roots and referees typically carry 3-4 different kits to cover all eventualities. I don't have a problem with cost - a couple of matches more than cover the cost of a new kit.
zarathustra
RefChat Addict
Yeah, other countries seem to get by without any issues.
There'll be some teething issues at the start, but the wrinkles will get ironed out over time.
I know it depends on area but I get £30 for a middle on my local men's Saturday league and £30 on my local women's league.
So if I did 8 middles in a month that would be £240, which is more than enough for a couple of shirts and embroidery
There'll be some teething issues at the start, but the wrinkles will get ironed out over time.
I know it depends on area but I get £30 for a middle on my local men's Saturday league and £30 on my local women's league.
So if I did 8 middles in a month that would be £240, which is more than enough for a couple of shirts and embroidery
I think you misunderstood me. The league is sanctioned, but sanctioned directly by the FA rather than an individual CFA. That is quite common at higher levels, and also in women's football where leagues often cover many counties.