Rugby/Football: studs and laws/rules

Stoner Jr mainly plays rugby but once a week he also plays football at afterschool club. He’s been told that he can’t use his rugby boots for football. Initially it was said due to the studs being metal. I countered that there’s no restriction by FIFA about metal studs. Now he’s being told that the studs are too long. Other than a 21mm limit in rugby I can find no such limitation in the rules of football.

In fact after epic googling I can find very little technical specification restrictions on studs in either code. Although the IRB laws do specify the minimum cross section of the top of the stud and it’s length.

Does anyone know a source of definitive guidance on this other than “its up to the ref whether it’s safe”?

bloke I work with is a certified kids coach. just asked him this, he says in Yorkshire leagues, no metal studs are allowed.

he has just phoned the secretary for the league, and there is no law about it. referees discretion he reckons.

does he say why? Metal studs dont burr and go sharp like plastic studs or blades.

I don’t think there are definitive rules and the ref should be checking for sharp edges and things that will injure people when playing and not specific studs.

I believe the issue is that rugby studs are generally all metal and with rounded edges compared to football studs which are often plastic and wear quickly to sharper edges making it easier to injure someone.

As football is non contact I don’t see why they would make an issue of rugby studs on a football pitch.

Do his rugby boots have hard toes? I was told that’s why I couldn’t wear mine at school for football.

It’s total rubbish about the studs, metal are definitely safer IMO. I’ve had to get 15 stitches in my face due to being sliced open by a plastic blade boot.

The “official” FA laws of football: http://www.thefa.com/football-rules-governance/laws/football-11-11/law-4—the-players-equipment

No mention of boot or stud type. Football is crap! 😉

What size is he? I can send you a pair of hardly used footy boots in a size from 3 to 6 for the price of postage!
Or just go on Ebay. It’s ridiculous how quickly kids grow out of boots, so they can always be found cheap.

1. There aren’t rules, there are laws 😉

(rules refer to competition rules, laws refer to the overall laws of the game relevant to all competitions)

http://www.fifa.com/mm/Document/FootballDevelopment/Refereeing/02/36/01/11/LawsofthegamewebEN_Neutral.pdf

2. Rule 4 – player’s equipment

Safety
A player must not use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to
himself or another player (including any kind of jewellery).
Basic equipment
The basic compulsory equipment of a player comprises the following separate
items:
• a jersey or shirt with sleeves – if undergarments are worn, the colour of the
sleeve must be the same main colour as the sleeve of the jersey or shirt
• shorts – if undershorts or tights are worn, they must be of the same main
colour as the shorts
• stockings – if tape or similar material is applied externally it must be the
same colour as that part of the stocking it is applied to
• shinguards
• footwear
Shinguards
• are covered entirely by the stockings
• are made of rubber, plastic or a similar suitable material
• provide a reasonable degree of protection
Colours
• The two teams must wear colours that distinguish them from each other
and also the referee and the assistant referees
• Each goalkeeper must wear colours that distinguish him from the other
players, the referee and the assistant referees
LAW 4 – THE PLAYERS’ EQUIPMENT 23
Infringements and sanctions
In the event of 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
must 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 re-enters the field of play without the
referee’s permission must be cautioned.
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 team from the place where the ball was located when the referee
stopped the match (see Law 13 – Position of free kick)
24
Decisions of the International F.A. Board
Decision 1
Basic compulsory equipment
The basic compulsory equipment must not have any political, religious or
personal slogans, statements or images.
The team of a player whose basic compulsory equipment has political, religious
or personal slogans or, statements or images will be sanctioned by the
competition organiser or by FIFA.
Undergarments
Players must not reveal undergarments that show political, religious, personal
slogans, statements or images, or advertising other than the manufacturer
logo.
A player/team of a player that reveals an undergarment that shows political,
religious, personal slogans, statements or images, or advertising other than the
manufacturer logo will be sanctioned by the competition organiser or by FIFA.

There used to be laws on size and shape, but with the advent of blades, and mouldeds, and so on it was impossible to define what was and wasn’t allowed, hence became a matter of referee’s discretion. As in point 1, a competition might have their own rule about what is and isn’t allowed (so i conceive also a school might also make rules on this point, with it being ‘impossible’ for a teacher to check every kid’s boots before every session)

So ultimately in answer to your question – no, there’s nothing in the laws other than they must be safe, but thereafter it’s up to the folks running the session to decide what is and isn’t safe and if they have a no metal studs rule, then suck it up I’m afraid, it’s their call.

(qualified although no longer active FA referee. Finally had enough when abused once too often by parents who thought they knew the rules better than me)

As football is non contact I don’t see why they would make an issue of rugby studs on a football pitch.

Oh no it isn’t!

Football.. non contact? Thats not the game I see. OK its not ‘contact’ like rugby but still a physical game. I would say stud length depends on the state of the pitch. My 10yr old plays both and has never been asked about stud length in either game. About time for some finger jabbing at the rule book if I were you!

About time for some finger jabbing at the rule book if I were you!

Yep. Because that’ll make some teacher feel well disposed to running an after school club in future. Refer to my previous post.

Their club, their rules.

Just as a contrast to the amazing football guidance.. here’s (part of) the rugby version – just for boots:

Materials
Materials used in the studs/cleats should be such that they do not
give rise to hazards as a result of mechanisms such as abrasion or
impacts in wear; or through any other form of damage or
deterioration. Materials used in replaceable studs/cleats should be
capable of repeated fixing and removal without creating a hazard.
Nylon has been found previously not to be a suitable material due to
its propensity to burring.
Shape and
Dimensions
Stud/cleat length shall be no greater than 21 mm (see Law 4).
Studs/cleats complying with the design and dimensions shown in
Figure 1 should give satisfactory performance.
The shape and dimensions of other stud/cleat designs should be
such that they present a no greater risk of injury to another player
than the stud/cleat shown in figure 1. Tests A and B can be used to
assess comparative performance.
The plan view cross-sectional contact area of the stud/cleat shown in
Figure 1 at a plane 2 mm below the tip is 78 mm2
. Other studs/cleats
having the same or greater contact area might be expected to give
satisfactory performance dependent on minimum stud/cleat width in
any direction.
All edges of the studs/cleats should be finished smooth and rounded
to a radius of not less than 1mm.
Construction
and design
The edge profile of the sole unit itself should be rounded with no
sharp edges.
The studs/cleats should have no external projections on its surface
except where text or a logo is desired. In such cases, the
embossment details shall be no more than 0.3 mm proud of the
surrounding material of the stud.
The studs/cleats and their attachment should be capable of
withstanding mechanical demands of service, including impacts and
abrasive wear, without becoming damaged and creating a potential
hazard. Performance can be assessed by means of tests C, D and E.
In the case of studs/cleats incorporating a spigot or similar, it is
recommended that:
(a) when the attachment spigot is of a different material from the
stud/cleat, a clearly visible warning should become evident when the
stud/cleat has worn down to a length that gives a minimum of 2 mm
cover to the end of the spigot.
(b) Any flutes or other recesses for the fixing tool, should not extend
nearer to the tip of the stud/cleat than the clearly visible warning
mark.
Replaceable studs/cleats should be designed in such a way that they
can be fitted by a method that does not damage the stud/cleat and
thereby introduce a cutting hazard or any other hazard

😆

thereafter it’s up to the folks running the session to decide what is and isn’t safe and if they have a no metal studs rule, then suck it up I’m afraid, it’s their call.

And that is exactly how Brexit happened! Dont leave these matters in the hands of nincompoops! 😀

Im going to warm up my jabbing finger.

The basic compulsory equipment of a player comprises the following separate
items:
• a jersey or shirt with sleeves – if undergarments are worn, the colour of the
sleeve must be the same main colour as the sleeve of the jersey or shirt
• shorts – if undershorts or tights are worn, they must be of the same main
colour as the shorts

I’ll tell you what, the 24 seven year olds that I coach will be getting a roasting on Friday night for showing up wearing black under armour under their red strips.

Them’s the rules. 😉

Them’s the rules

Yes indeed, they’re very specific about sleeve colour… Stud type? Whatever!

Who should we write to about all theses premiership players wearing jewellery? It’s there in the rules.

A lot of the modern football boots use a mix of molded blades and screw in metal, so not sure where they are coming from TBH. Seems like a ‘rule’ left over from the 80/90’s when it was metal for rugby and plastic for football.

Look these stupidly expensive Adidas boots, come with aluminium studs.

Adidas X-16

and now we’re on to another great bugbear of referees……

Lesson one of day one of the new referees qualification course……you don’t make the laws, you enforce them. No matter if you think they’re stupid, you enforce them.

Ah, you say – but what about discretion! Yes, I say, but what about consistency. You can’t have both.

By all means let them train in their black underwear if they want to, but let them know that they aren’t allowed to wear it in games. Far easier to follow the laws than hope the referee’s lenient on it; at some point (maybe not with 7 y.o’s but at some point) a referee will enforce it and he won’t want to hear umpteen parents complaining that ‘last week’s ref let them!!’

Next you’ll be allowing them to pick the ball up and run with it. “But the ref in 1862 let them!”. Then where will we be – anarchy! 😕

Who should we write to about all theses premiership players wearing jewellery? It’s there in the rules.

Examples?

Then where will we be

Playing a sublime game of great superiority to Soccer. But lets save that one for another thread 😀

from the same site as dragon’s link – football studs in 14mm length – http://www.adidas.co.uk/soft-ground-studs-long/AP1092.html

By all means let them train in their black underwear if they want to, but let them know that they aren’t allowed to wear it in games.

Only applies to their training strip which is red.

Their playing strip is black. Crisis averted. 😉

A game started by a player cheating, and basically still decided by who can cheat most and get away with it 😀

Who should we write to about all theses premiership players wearing jewellery? It’s there in the rules.
Examples?

Not quite Premiership but nasty outcome.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-foyle-west-37605354

Pretty sure when I was at school (90’s, early 2000’s) you could wear football boots for rugby (and most did), but never the other way around because rugby studs were bigger. Pretty sure football studs were metal tipped though on everyone’s boots apart from mine (because mine were cheap).

7 year olds have separate playing and training kit! When i was a kid i had a plain green jersey and wore it for everything !

Don’t know they’re born.

FOUL REF! Mismatched Sleeves!

Not quite Premiership but nasty outcome.

agreed, nasty. One of our coaches was jumping up to put the nets on the crossbar and caught his wedding ring on the hook. Fortunately, this was the 70’s and goals were home made from wood and cup hooks so all he did was pull the hook out of the wood and cut himself, but there have been degloving injuries in similar circumstances.

However…. a man climbing over a fence to get a ball back at a training session isn’t the Premiership. In fact, the fact it was a training session and he was getting a ball back is hardly relevant either, the real story is ‘man loses finger climbing over a fence’

FOUL REF! Mismatched Sleeves!

Fella, if you want to Ref the game get you your own whistle and notebook. Until then, please leave it to me. That’s not even a baselayer – and you call me blind!

You could, y’know, just buy him a pair of footie boots…

3 out of 8 sessions gone, that’s not going to happen.
He’ll do it in his underpants and plimsoles!

He’ll do it in his underpants

only if they are the same colour as his shorts. 😀

You could, y’know, just buy him a pair of footie boots…

did you see my offer ^^ up there?

You could, y’know, just buy him a pair of footie boots…

Stoner – Member
3 out of 8 sessions gone, that’s not going to happen.
He’ll do it in his underpants and plimsoles!

You can get a serviceable pair from Sports direct for under a tenner.

Is that how much you don’t love him?

he’s playing soccer. He’s dead to me now.

Cheers Dez I shall go and see what size feet he has this week….

from the same site as dragon’s link – football studs in 14mm length – http://www.adidas.co.uk/soft-ground-studs-long/AP1092.html

The reason I know they exist is I recently had to buy them for our 12 year after he lost some studs at training.

after he lost some studs at training.

have you checked under the pile of discarded illegally coloured undershirts?