Laws of the Game
for Officials, Referees, Players, and Fans
The Players' Equipment
Safety
A player must not use equipment or wear anything which is dangerous
to himself or another player (including any kind of jewellery).
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
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