Headband question

[ctsoccer13]

I thought I read somewhere that the headband similar to what Ronaldinho wears was recently banned by FIFA. Does anyone remember this that can point me to the article? I tried searching BS but get the "high traffic message" all the time and couldn't find the article on other sitse. Thanks.

[Gary V]

I assume you're talking about a sweatband. I can't remember anything that would restrict wearing one. Since players are allowed to wear head protection ("Full-90" for example), a simple sweatband would be no problem.

If a player was wearing something to make himself more visible to his teammates - a target - he could be required to remove it. "Uniform" means looking alike.

[intechpc]

Well I just watched the Superliga match between Houston and America and the America GK had a head band on. So doesn't look like it's a problem as long as it is not considered unsafe.

Gary, I'm not sure on your theory about the referee asking it to be removed on that basis. The LOTG never use the term "Uniform", although the ATR does. However, even in the ATR there is no provision stating that a player cannot wear a particular item to make himself/herself stand out from the rest of the team. In fact the ATR only addresses that socks and shorts should be uniform and that the shirts should be distinct from the other team. Any further regulation explicity left to the competition authority. Lets not forget that in many leagues the captain wears an armband that is specifically meant to make them stand out among the rest of the players from their team.

You know, one last thought (and I'm sorry to put up such a long post about head bands), as a referee if the headband makes them stand out it could be helpful to your performance. As referees we should be looking for ways to identify the players other than simply their numbers (for purposes of cautions, P/I, etc). This would certainly help in that regard.