The Ref Stop

Jewellery

Dan_leics

Dan_leics

New Member
Level 4 Referee
New ref here, qualified last month and I’m 4 games in so far - absolutely loving it.

One thing that has come up is guys who cannot get wedding rings off...I always do a full inspection and there always seems to be one who cannot get his ring off. Today I had the player/manager who tried his hardest but couldn’t remove it. He taped it up and as the league secretary was on the pitch next to me, he cane over to say hi and so I asked him about it. His advice was at this level just to ignore it and assessors wouldn’t mark you down for it - true or false? This is men’s Saturday league.

Any thoughts? TIA
 
The Ref Stop
Having witnessed the damage a ring can do I never let a player wear one During a game. I’ve had players tell me that they can not get the ring off, but amazingly when I tell them they won’t be taking part in the fixture they always seem to get it removed.
 
GPW said:
Having witnessed the damage a ring can do I never let a player wear one During a game. I’ve had players tell me that they can not get the ring off, but amazingly when I tell them they won’t be taking part in the fixture they always seem to get it removed.
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Thanks for response and this is the message I have always delivered, the previous few games players have always managed to remove it, but just not this one.
 
Big Daves ring doesn't always come off, Big Dave has shares in Greggs.... Big Dave wants to play!!! Big Dave has some gobby mates,,,,,,What do you do??? ;)
 
Did a semi-final game as an AR yesterday. All waiting in the tunnel for the red team captain so we can walk out. He arrives, right in front of us, with a piece of tape to cover a flat but chunky ring. The ref says "now that I have seen it, you have to take it off". All around including his own team officials agree that it was pretty stupid to try and cover it in front of the referee :) .
Of course he says I can't take it off. "you are not playing then. Do you want to make changes to the team sheet?". Ref gave them a couple of minutes to take it off which didn't work. We got going with reds to start with ten. He ran in just before kick off. They cut off the ring with a mini bolt cutter.
 
I was coaching at a game years ago when the referee rightly wouldn't allow an opposition player to play with an earring in. She was adamant it didn't come out and then demonstrated with several team mates trying and failing to get it out. Her manager disappeared off to his car and came back with a tool box, out of which came a mini bolt cutter. Thought he was going to cut her ear off at first ... :bite:

The answer can only be it comes off / out, and if it doesn't they don't play.
 
I was a stickler for jewellery and spent many a pre game warm up doing my bit to wind up the Big Dave’s of my leagues.

We had a friend who was quite short and he ragged a wedding finger off jumping up to a crossbar to clip on a netting, plonker still had his wedding ring on and caught it in the metal loop and then descended!
 
I allowed a player to play last week because he couldn't get his wedding ring off. I did the whole, 'it comes off or you don't play' routine. Fifteen minutes later, he still couldn't get it off and was ready to get changed. I allowed it to be taped up
Step 7 and above, zero tolerance. Grass roots, participation trumps nanny rules
Such things may cost me promotion whilst I ref the recs, but I honestly don't care
 
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Dan_leics said:
His advice was at this level just to ignore it and assessors wouldn’t mark you down for it - true or false?
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They will make note of it. I'm pretty sure they will. They won't expect things like undershirts/shorts and sock tape to be regulated strictly at grassroots, since sometimes you'll have clubs with mix and match kits and whatnot. But jewellery I would think they would make a mention of and I wouldn't want repeated mentions as that will get picked up on as well.

Besides, that advice is a good way to get you into bad habits and we don't want that.
 
Big Cat said:
I allowed a player to play last week because he couldn't get his wedding ring off. I did the whole, 'it comes off or you don't play' routine. Fifteen minutes later, he still couldn't get it off and was ready to get changed. I allowed it to be taped up
Step 7 and above, zero tolerance. Grass roots, participation trumps nanny rules
Such things may cost me promotion whilst I ref the recs, but I honestly don't care
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How long do people participate for, when they've had half an ear torn off or a finger snapped or removed?
"Nanny rules" is an excuse for not doing your job properly. They know the law, you know the law, no reason to not do it.
 
Big Cat said:
Grass roots, participation trumps nanny rules.
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And at any level, safeguarding the players' safety trumps all else. There have been a number of incidents of players getting serious injuries (a 'degloved finger' can be a life-changing injury leading to a forced amputation) both documented online and attested to by referees even in this very thread.

Here's just one example - there are others:

Player's finger ripped off
 
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Google "Ring Injury" and then click on images. Don't do it if you are squeamish.
 
We got a note a few years back from our County FA, stating that if it's below senior League football, then having it securely taped is fine, senior League and above is a no no.

Having said that I had a supply league substitute trying to get on with a taped ring on Saturday, he protested that it couldn't come off so I told the referee that the sub was not happening, and as if by magic it came straight off!!
 
Nij said:
How long do people participate for, when they've had half an ear torn off or a finger snapped or removed?
"Nanny rules" is an excuse for not doing your job properly. They know the law, you know the law, no reason to not do it.
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To clarify; zero tolerance of ear rings and the like; at any level
Peter Grove said:
And at any level, safeguarding the players' safety trumps all else. There have been a number of incidents of players getting serious injuries (a 'degloved finger' can be a life-changing injury leading to a forced amputation) both documented online and attested to by referees even in this very thread.

Here's just one example - there are others:

Player's finger ripped off
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Further clarifying, I had three players remove wedding bands yesterday before KO. The situation I referred to previously was last resort stuff. I had to be convinced that the player absolutely couldn't remove the band before allowing it to be taped (which i believe used to be allowed)
You're right that safety trumps everything else, but sometimes a discreet bit of common sense is apt. Yes Google will return hits for anything you type in, but realistically, there's miles more chance that a player will die of natural causes during a game than have a finger torn off via a goal celebration involving a non-existent fence
This is true...---> i once lost my wedding ring for a week because I took it off for a game. Fortunately it turned up in a kit bag but the loss caused deep upset. Players fret about the same thing when i order removal
Further further clarifying, I really do have no tolerance for kit and equipment issues on Saturdays at a higher level
Overall however, effective management of RP, SFP and preventing VC, all have an infinitely greater bearing on player safety than a taped up wedding band. The grass roots game has been decaying badly for decades. Whilst I enforce this law almost all of the time, I see this unnecessary minuscule risk aversion as a contributory factor
 
i see it as an arse covering exercise more than anything

(without knowing anything about law) if you see a player wearing a ring and let them play, and as a result of wearing the ring they suffer an injury then you must surely be at least partially responsible, no matter what the player may have said pre match (it's ok ref, i take full responsibility etc.)
 
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No jewellery, can't take it off/out then get changed because you're not playing.

I leave my wedding ring at home when I referee.

However, I don't drop it 5 minutes before kick off.

I tell coaches when I arrive that I will be doing a kit inspection and that I'll be checking under shirts, undershorts, jewelry etc.

I do the kit check 15-20 minutes before kick off so players have ample time to correct things that they might have forgotten (trying to get away with).

These laws have been in place long enough that players and coaches know about them, the problem is last week's ref who can't be bothered to apply the laws properly
 
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Taping up was fine when I played. Can't ever recall a player being threatened with home time
Do any of the historians know if this Law changed this century? Maybe the refs weren't bothered back in the day
 
zarathustra said:
https://www.complex.com/sports/2016...itter-after-ripping-finger-off-freak-accident

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/668400/Footballer-football-finger-ripped-off-wedding-ring-5-a-side

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/player-loses-his-finger-in-goal-celebration-1-564862

Some reasons why rings aren't allowed
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All fence related. Just like any fence in any field
Like I say, Google -> 'sport related heart attack' and the hit count will not reflect freak occurrences. Besides, I'm saying I enforce the Law, but i do also have a brain which can accommodate a modicum of common sense. Again, I think we've had this out before so no point subjecting our readers to the same again
 
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