# National Cup Rules regarding Uniform Colors



## Mom Taxi (Apr 8, 2018)

I was just perusing the rules for National Cup to make sure I have all my ducks in a row for next weekend and I noticed they specify the home team should wear light colored jerseys and the away team should wear dark jerseys for games. 

_7.20.5. All home teams shall wear a light color jersey and all visiting teams shall wear a contrasting dark color jersey for each game. The home team must change jersey colors if the referee decides there is a color conflict._ 

Is this a new rule? I like it - I like that is it more specific than just the home team changing if there is a conflict; I just don't remember seeing the rule be this specific in previous years. I hope other tournaments and leagues will follow suit if they haven't already.


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## espola (Apr 8, 2018)

Mom Taxi said:


> I was just perusing the rules for National Cup to make sure I have all my ducks in a row for next weekend and I noticed they specify the home team should wear light colored jerseys and the away team should wear dark jerseys for games.
> 
> _7.20.5. All home teams shall wear a light color jersey and all visiting teams shall wear a contrasting dark color jersey for each game. The home team must change jersey colors if the referee decides there is a color conflict._
> 
> Is this a new rule? I like it - I like that is it more specific than just the home team changing if there is a conflict; I just don't remember seeing the rule be this specific in previous years. I hope other tournaments and leagues will follow suit if they haven't already.


There should be a common sense rule, encouraging referees to get the game played even if things like uniform colors don't adhere strictly to the rules, as long as it does not create a problem for the officials or provide an unfair advantage for one team.  It's kids playing a ball game, for Christ's sake.


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## timbuck (Apr 8, 2018)

State cup youngers had the same thing this year. 
It’s still up to the home team to change if there is a conflict.

I always thought the home team was supposed to wear dark though.   I feel like some coaches try to be jerks and wear the wrong color as the away team to make the other team change.


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## Mom Taxi (Apr 8, 2018)

espola said:


> There should be a common sense rule, encouraging referees to get the game played even if things like uniform colors don't adhere strictly to the rules, as long as it does not create a problem for the officials or provide an unfair advantage for one team.  It's kids playing a ball game, for Christ's sake.


I agree, but for planning purposes it's also nice to have some guidelines to follow. This will be my 10th season of club soccer and I've never seen an issue with conflicting jersey colors causing a delay in the start of a game, but I can also imagine from other crazy things I've witnessed over the years that anything is possible.



timbuck said:


> I always thought the home team was supposed to wear dark though.  I feel like some coaches try to be jerks and wear the wrong color as the awaybteam to make the other team change.


It seemed like when my players were younger the trend was for the home team to wear dark jerseys, but now that they're older it seems the home team usually wears white or light colored jerseys. But I imagine it could be a regional thing or even vary from league to league. Who knows. Ultimately the goal is to let the kids play.


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## MWN (Apr 8, 2018)

From a referee's perspective, we are going to do everything possible to get the game played for the sake of the kids.  I have two wishes when it comes to uniforms.  Team manager or coach are there about 45 minutes before the game.  Go over and talk to the other coach/manager and figure it out like adults by agreeing on the following:

1) What color jersey are we each wearing;
2) IF the socks are close, somebody needs to change their socks.

From an AR's perspective we have the girls all with red socks in a scrum and kicking/defending the ball WHILE keeping an eye on the 2nd to last defender WHILE keeping an eye on No. 5 who we have been told is the reincarnation of the devil WHILE trying to block out the insults from parents that are not privy to the fact that soccer is a contact sport WHILE sprinting in the opposite direction because the 2nd to last defender is falling back fast ...

Ball goes out of play ... hmmm ... well I can definitely tell you it was one of the girls in the red sock.  For the lost of all things holy (holey if referring to socks) ... jerseys and socks.


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## RedCard (Apr 8, 2018)

Also, the 2 goalies have to wear different colors than each other. Most referees don't enforce it, but during the CSL League Cup Championship game, both goalies were wearing neon green, so the home team goalie had to change her jersey. It's in case the other team pulls their goalie to try to score late in the game, and would you know it, the other team pulled their goalie late during a corner kick. Makes perfect sense, just not enforced a lot.


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## gauchosean (Apr 9, 2018)

Teams being jerks about changing was always amazing to me. And then parents getting riled up when our team would change because our coach would be flexible when necessary. 

My favorite story of an ingrate coach, his team had a red/white striped uniform and a blue uniform. We had a red uniform and a white uniform both of which were hard to distinguish from their striped uniform. Both teams had red shorts. We were home team and ingrate coach insisted we change shirts, we said pick one you would like us to wear we don't care, but it might be easier for everyone if you wore your blue uniforms. He dug his heels in and wouldn't change because they didn't have to. So the kids played a confusing game because an adult couldn't behave like an adult.


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## Mom Taxi (Apr 9, 2018)

MWN said:


> From a referee's perspective, we are going to do everything possible to get the game played for the sake of the kids.  I have two wishes when it comes to uniforms.  Team manager or coach are there about 45 minutes before the game.  Go over and talk to the other coach/manager and figure it out like adults by agreeing on the following:
> 
> 1) What color jersey are we each wearing;
> 2) IF the socks are close, somebody needs to change their socks.
> ...


This actually reminds me of a time when a ref did ask the other team to change their socks. It was at a tournament up in NorCal a few years ago, and the tournament rules actually specified not only jersey colors but also sock colors for the home and visiting teams. Both teams were wearing white socks and he asked the other team to change their socks. Fortunately all the players on the other team had their red socks so it wasn't an issue. And I'm sure if they hadn't all had red socks our team would have gladly changed into their black socks.


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## timbuck (Apr 9, 2018)

We showed up for warm ups in our blue uniforms. We were the home team.  Opposing team was warming up in white.  
We saw them change into dark (might have been black) after we arrived.  So that we had to change.


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## Surfref (Apr 9, 2018)

espola said:


> There should be a common sense rule, encouraging referees to get the game played even if things like uniform colors don't adhere strictly to the rules, as long as it does not create a problem for the officials or provide an unfair advantage for one team.  It's kids playing a ball game, for Christ's sake.


Most referees will use some common sense and figure out a way to let all of the players play.  I had several teams this past weekend with players that had the same number.  The tape they put on the back would not stay on so we had them put white tape on both wrists.  It allowed us (referees) to be able to identify them in case they received a card or were injured, and still allow them to play.  The parents were losing their minds and kept yelling at us that there were two number 5's or 11's or 24's.


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## TangoCity (Apr 9, 2018)

timbuck said:


> We showed up for warm ups in our blue uniforms. We were the home team.  Opposing team was warming up in white.
> We saw them change into dark (might have been black) after we arrived.  So that we had to change.


Many teams have a jersey (shirt) they just wear for warming up and then switch to their real jersey top before the game starts.  If you didn't know that then you might think the other team was messing with you.


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## timbuck (Apr 9, 2018)

TangoCity said:


> Many teams have a jersey (shirt) they just wear for warming up and then switch to their real jersey top before the game starts.  If you didn't know that then you might think the other team was messing with you.


Not in this case.  It was their white game jersey. 
Side bar-  why have a game warm up jersey?  Seems an unneccsary spend of $25 for one more shirt.


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## outside! (Apr 9, 2018)

timbuck said:


> Not in this case.  It was their white game jersey.
> Side bar-  why have a game warm up jersey?  Seems an unneccsary spend of $25 for one more shirt.


It is the practice jersey. Many teams travel to games in their practice jersey, and then change into their game jersey sometime during warm up. This helps to prevent food stains on the game jerseys.

My pet peeve is the "Okapi" pattern socks that Adidas supplies with their kits the past couple of years. These socks are a light color at one end and a dark color at the other end and transition to the other color with a series of varying width stripes. The pattern looks great on an Okapi and probably functions as camouflage, but makes it difficult to tell the difference between the "light" socks and the "dark" socks. I am also fairly certain that some teams mix up the light and dark socks with the wrong uniform.


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## Zdrone (Apr 9, 2018)

timbuck said:


> Side bar-  why have a game warm up jersey?  Seems an unneccsary spend of $25 for one more shirt.


Practice jerseys?  I cant imagine paying for a 4th (practice, home, away, +warm up) jersey.
*ninja’d


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## GunninGopher (Apr 9, 2018)

TangoCity said:


> Many teams have a jersey (shirt) they just wear for warming up and then switch to their real jersey top before the game starts.  If you didn't know that then you might think the other team was messing with you.


My daughter's team has a long sleeve jersey that most of the team wears to warm up in. Most of the time they'll switch out of them when they put their other game jersey's on. Sometimes they decide to play in them.

As a referee, I've had many games where, unless you were close, you wouldn't realize that the players had t-shirts on, with numbers, that looked like jerseys.


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## jrcaesar (Apr 9, 2018)

At a tournament, our opponents were a Beach FC team that insisted to the referees that they couldn't change into an alternate color ... which they were wearing just 15 minutes earlier, and had on in an earlier game. After a delay over this, referees said they would enforce the forfeit rule. Beach team changed jerseys.


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## coachrefparent (Apr 9, 2018)

Surfref said:


> Most referees will use some common sense and figure out a way to let all of the players play.  I had several teams this past weekend with players that had the same number.  The tape they put on the back would not stay on so we had them put white tape on both wrists.  It allowed us (referees) to be able to identify them in case they received a card or were injured, and still allow them to play.  The parents were losing their minds and kept yelling at us that there were two number 5's or 11's or 24's.


And some referees say you can't have any tape on your uniform...


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## Calisoccer11 (Apr 9, 2018)

timbuck said:


> Not in this case.  It was their white game jersey.
> Side bar-  why have a game warm up jersey?  Seems an unneccsary spend of $25 for one more shirt.


I like the idea of a warm up jersey.  It's kind of a mental thing - when you switch into your game jerseys it is time to BRING IT ON!!  Lol, or like Mr. Rogers - remember how he would change out of his "outdoor" cardigan and into his "indoor" cardigan.


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## timbuck (Apr 9, 2018)

Or like when Lincoln Hawk turns around his trucker cap in “Over the Top”


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## Calisoccer11 (Apr 9, 2018)

timbuck said:


> Or like when Lincoln Hawk turns around his trucker cap in “Over the Top”


OMG - that is hilarious!!!  Classic Stallone!!


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## DefndrDad (Apr 9, 2018)

timbuck said:


> Or like when Lincoln Hawk turns around his trucker cap in “Over the top”
> 
> It’s like a switch!


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