Law 4

"Our Goal is Fair Play"

Safety

A player must not use equipment or wear anything which is dangerous to himself or another player (including any kind of jewellery).

Jewellery

All items of jewellery are potentially dangerous. The term “dangerous” can sometimes be ambiguous and controversial, therefore in order to be uniform and consistent any kind of jewellery has to be forbidden.
Players are not allowed to use tape to cover jewellery. Taping jewellery is not adequate protection.
Rings, earrings, leather or rubber bands are not necessary to play and the only thing they can bring about is injury.

In order to avoid “last minute” problems, teams should inform their players in advance.

Please avoid injuries!
Necklaces, rings, bracelets, earrings, leather or rubber bands etc. are not allowed

Basic Equipment

The basic compulsory equipment of a player is:

	a jersey or shirt
	shorts – if thermal undershorts are worn, they are of the same main colour as the shorts
	stockings
	shinguards
	footwear

Shinguards

are covered entirely by the stockings

are made of a suitable material (rubber, plastic, or similar substances

provide a reasonable degree of protection

Goalkeepers

each goalkeeper wears colours which distinguish him from the other players, the referee and the assistant referees

Non-Basic Equipment

A player must not use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to himself/herself or another player
Modern protective equipment such as headgear, facemasks, knee and arm protectors made of soft, lightweight, padded material are not considered to be dangerous and are therefore permitted
New technology has made sports spectacles much safer, both for the players themselves and for other players

Infringements/Sanctions

For any infringement of this Law:

	play need not be stopped
	the player at fault is instructed by the referee to leave the field of play to correct his equipment
	the player leaves the field of play when the ball next ceases to be in play, unless he has already corrected his equipment
	any player required to leave the field of play to correct his equipment does not re-enter without the referee’s permission
	the referee checks that the player’s equipment is correct before allowing him to re-enter the field of play
	the player is only allowed to re-enter the field of play when the ball is out of play

A player who has been required to leave the field of play because of an infringement of this Law and who enters (or re-enters) the field of play without the referee’s permission is cautioned and shown the yellow card.

Restart of Play

If play is stopped by the referee to administer a caution:

the match is restarted by an indirect free kick taken by a player of the opposing side, from the place where the ball was located when the referee stopped the match.

Decisions of the International F.A. Board

Decision 1

Players must not reveal undershirts that contain slogans or advertising.
A player removing his jersey to reveal slogans or advertising will be sanctioned by the competition organiser.
Jerseys must have sleeves.