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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday July 14, 2006 - 33 Soccer equipment rules designed to protect players By Francis Martin and Lou Braida SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER As soccer referees, our main objectives are to control the game and ensure the safety of all participants. To help us, FIFA provides 17 Laws of the Game, with Law 4 being "Player's Equipment". Before we begin, the situation depicted in the cartoon actually happened to an official in his first season as a referee. A coach and player, who had forgotten his shin pads at home, came to ask if he could play wearing his older brother's hockey shin guards. Though they looked extremely sincere when they said he would play carefully, the referee said no. Though the official felt bad for the player, he remembers thinking how bad he would have felt if the player had seriously injured someone else. To explain Law 4, you really have to look at three components: · The purpose of the Law · Items that are compulsory player equipment · Items that are non-essential player equipment The Law itself is self explanatory, and states: "A player must not use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to himself or another player (including any kind of jewelry)." Therefore the purpose of the Law is quite clear: it is for the safety of the players. Compulsory equipment is easily understood. A player must wear a shirt with sleeves, shorts, socks, shin guards, and shoes. The sleeves of the shirt cannot be rolled up or pinned up. The socks must completely cover the shin guard. The shoes cannot have any sharp-edged hard cleats. If thermal under-shorts are worn, they are to be the same main color as the shorts. The discussion always surrounds non-essential player equipment. For consistency, FIFA publishes guidelines that are adopted by the CSA (Canadian Soccer Association) and passed to us by the OSA (Ontario Soccer Association). Jewelry: No item of jewelry of any sort will be allowed on the field of play, even if it is "taped". This ELIZABETH WILTSHIRE / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER includes necklaces, rings, bracelets including Live Strong plastic and string bracelets and leather or rubber bands and any kind of earrings. Taping of earrings is not permitted. The exception is Medic Alert bracelets, which can be worn but must be taped firm to the wrist or body, with the alert description visible. Hats (bandanas, sweat bands): The only player who can wear a hat is the goalkeeper and only as an eye shade. The hat cannot have a hard peak, so baseball hats are not your best choice. The hat must be worn with the peak facing forward and cannot contain any metal or hard plastic parts. As a suggestion, bring more than one hat to choose from so if a referee decides that one isn't acceptable, then you have an alternate choice. Manufactured padded head protectors permitted by FIFA, such as those worn by the Canadian National women's team, are allowed. Eyeglasses: Eyeglasses are allowed if they are "sports spectacles" that are safe for the player him or herself and the other players. Other prescription glasses may be permitted as long as they are held in place by a head strap. Materials such as metal and glass are not permitted. Knee braces: The vast majority of commercially manufactured supports are safe to use and will be allowed. The concern is not the hardness of the equipment alone, but rather that any part of it can cut or wound another play- er. Any support must be safe for all players and adequately padded and covered (there are manufactured covers readily available). Casts: Players wearing a soft cast will be permitted to play if the cast does not present a danger to him/herself or any other player. Hard plaster casts are not considered safe. One final point: The referee has the final say on what is or isn't acceptable and he or she has the responsibility to apply the Law for the safety of the players. Though our local Referee Branch does its best to communicate a consistent application of the Laws, you may encounter referees with differing opinions. Please, understand that their foremost concern is for the safety of the players -- try to work with them for the good of everyone on the field. We have tried to review the most common items that annually cause some discussion, but it isn't all inclusive. The complete guide can be found on the Ontario Soccer Association (OSA) Web site at www.soccer.on.ca. You can also view the CSA guideline at our Web site: www.haltonbranch.net. · The Halton Branch of the Ontario Soccer Referee's Association represents members from FIFA level to local house league referees. Francis Martin and Lou Braida, who co-wrote the article, are the president and secretary, respectively. CHAMPIONS IN CALEDON: The Oakville tyke Hawks won the championship at a recent tournament in Caledon, the third tournament in a row that they reached the final. Oakville won all four of its games at the lacrosse competition, including a 6-4 victory over Kitchener in the title game. Tyke Hawks nab elusive tournament title The third time was the charm for the Oakville tyke Hawks. Competing in their third lacrosse tournament final in as many weeks, the Hawks finally broke through to win the championship at the prestigious Bob Patching Memorial Tournament recently in Caledon. Oakville downed a strong Kitchener team 6-4 in the final as Zachary Dies led the way with a pair of goals. Also scoring for the Hawks were Matt Milford, Michael Hickey, Nicholas Randell and Brett Corbeth. Kevin Dobko had three assists and Jackson denElzen recorded two helpers in the win. Earlier in the tournament, Oakville downed Windsor 6-2, pounded Caledon 14-0 and blanked Halton Hills 11-0. Hawks goal-scorers in those games included Adam Wolf, Matthew Thom, Ethan McArthur, Johnny Mastromarco, Jonathan Donville, Michael Dobko, Kevin Dobko, Matthew Dilella, Randell, Milford and denElzen. The previous week, Oakville won its first three games at a tournament in Milton before falling 6-3 in the final to Six Nations. Hickey, Corbeth and Donville scored in the championship game. Andrew Deryck, Kevin Dong and Henry Luel also contributed to the success of the Hawks, who are sponsored by Salon Monzer. Paul Deryck, Steve Thom, Mike Wolf, Ron Milford, Jason Donville, Brennan Donville and John Dobko help coach the squad.