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Message from the Soccer Rules interpreter: Enforce the rules
Sent to TASO Soccer:
In the Wednesday, January 26, 2005 edition there was a very large photo taken at a varsity girl's soccer game. The photo shows a player from each team going up for a header.In this photo, you can very clearly see that one player is wearing two fashion bracelets on her left wrist and the the other player is wearing a fashion bracelet on both her left and right wrists. I have been a soccer official with TASO since the 1994 season. It is my understanding of current NFHS rules that players are not allowed to wear such jewelry.Every year, the pre-season tournaments are made difficult when I, and other TASO soccer officials, try to enforce uniform rules on schools.These uniform rules include: jewelry, shinguards, sliders, and long-sleeved undershirts.The coaches and players respond as if I am speaking a different language when I require them to make corrections to their uniform.The coaches consistently tell me that other officials never enforce these rules.This also applies to the requirement of providing NFHS-certified match balls.I recognize that coaches say a lot of things, but when more than half of the players on a varsity team are in violation of rule or another, I tend to believe the coach.Couple that with a photo like this one being published in the newspaper, and that I hear the same thing from all teams who use those officials, and what else am I to believe?
Response from the Soccer Rules Interpreter:
You are correct when you enforce "No Jewelry". Some players and coaches will tell you that "The last referee let me" even if the last referee didn't let them or "We have been doing it all season" even if they haven't been. It is their ploy to not follow the rules. We have referees all over the state that do not enforce "no jewelry" as they should. These are the true "Last Referees". The referee of the game in question has become a "Last Referee". I know that chapter instructs the referees as do other chapters to enforce the "no jewelry" and all other aspects of player uniform and equipment. Those "Last Referees" cause the current referee problems, but the current referees need to keep enforcing the rules.I have already had conversations with chapters on this subject and about this particular incident. |
