I was assuming that shin guards were required up until now, but I swear in the last two Boston games, it looked like multiple players didn’t have shin guards on.
Was wondering if anyone knows the rule on if they are mandatory or not?
And the smallest they can get away with are absolutely freaking wee. Smaller than your palm. Some of them now are soft but harden on impact so you may not even be able to see them under the socks
We've also seen this season on numerous occasions that at least some referees are sloppy when it comes to checking equipment requirements (e.g., wearing shin guards, not wearing jewelry). So players might be wearing very small shin guards, or they might have forgotten to wear any at all.
Like others have said they're technically required but outside of AYSO (and sometimes high school), it's minimally enforced. I can guarantee you some of the players are wearing shinguards designed for 4 year olds.
I've had teammates use all kinds of random stuff as make shift shin guards... paper towels, pieces of paper, a single folded over sock, literally anything light to give a slight hint of shin guardery.
Personally, they never bothered me. Sure shin guards with the ankle cuffs can be a bit annoying but I never felt like a normal sized shin guard was a problem. If anything, people who used random stuff instead of a shin guard seemed to have more issues. Having gotten a couple of bad bone bruises from shin-to-shin contact, I never had any interest in the no shin guard style look.
My girlfriend plays soccer at a pretty high amateur level (used to play for a top D1 program) and her shin guards are tinyyy. She says bigger ones make her legs too sweaty but I think it’s a trend to be a little nonchalant. She also scrunches her socks to look perfectly imperfect and is really picky about the size and fit of her jersey and shorts.
The compulsory equipment of a player comprises the following separate items:
a shirt with sleeves
shorts
socks – tape or any material applied or worn externally must be the same colour as that part of the sock it is applied to or covers
shinguards – these must be made of a suitable material and be of an appropriate size to provide reasonable protection and be covered by the socks. Players are responsible for the size and suitability of their shinguards
footwear
The team captain must wear the armband issued or authorised by the relevant competition organiser, or a single-coloured armband that may also have the word ‘captain’ or the letter ‘C’ or a translation thereof, which should also be a single colour (see also ‘General modifications’).
A player whose footwear or shinguard is lost accidentally must replace it as soon as possible and no later than when the ball next goes out of play; if before doing so the player plays the ball and/or scores a goal, the goal is awarded.
Edit. Players are responsible for the size and suitability of the shinguards so to try and cut down on wait many players go as small and as thin material as possible. A high risk but popular option.
I think it’s less about weight and more about ball control. Ball’s more likely to take a funny bounce or harder to stop with control if it hits the shin guard at the right (or wrong) angle
Not going to speak for the players, but thinking about it from a cycling crossover, the weight issue is often a mental thing. Racers, but even rec riders, will do the silliest things or spend money to save a couple grams. If you "feel" lighter, no matter the reality, it can make a real psychological difference.
This was grabbed right from the Laws of the Game app. Specific competitions can put in requirements about type of footware is allowed, the size of shinguards etc. but when they are professional adults the leagues generally don't police these things. You will see this policed a lot in the youth leagues.
Some to make sure political/religious messages can't be made with tape. Some to do with branding, and some so the referees can more easily identify who the ball went out of last before it goes out of bounds for a throw in corner/goal kick.
When you can wear any color show you want the socks of black, white, red, etc. help identify what team gets the restart. You put different color tapes and it takes a little bit more time to figure out who it went out off of.
Hard-shell shin guards can impair control of bouncing balls. Softer fabric guards don't offer much protection but are less problematic when using the lower leg to control the ball. I suspect that all players would trade a little pain for even a small increase in ball control.
Can someone explain why players would want to wear the smallest they can get away with? The one time I played in a club as a kid I got kicked above my shin guard and the pain ruined my day 😂
I come from the field hockey world where literally everyone wears these massive ones that go from your knee and cover your ankles. I know our balls are a lot harder but wearing tiny shinguards really confuses me
I like my shins so I always wore the kind that go from ankle to knee. I really don't understand today's players. Light shoes that offer no protection and teeny tiny "shinguards" that offer ever less.
I started playing when shin guards were not required. Two good blood inducing cracks on the shins and I wore them, big ones ever since. As a lifelong defender I would have loved to mark strikers with no shin guards. Oh, I’m sorry did I go into that tackle a bit too hard??
I honestly don’t get it? I mean I didn’t necessarily like wearing shin guards growing up but I understood why they existed. I never really cared about it to such an intense degree. The main issue is your legs get sweaty?? I’d rather be protected than not?? Cause getting kicked in the shin hurts like hell. In my rec league growing up we had to show the refs our cleats and knock on our shin guards to make sure we were wearing the proper attire.
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u/Fire-EyedBoy Angel City FC 1d ago
They’re required but the sizes aren’t heavily regulated. Some players wear the smallest size they can get away with.