Modern Football - Snoods, Tights, and Pink Boots

According to the 2009/2010 FIFA Laws of the Game handbook, a player is required to have the following equipment in order to participate in a match:

• 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 are worn, they must be of the same main colour as
the shorts
• stockings
• shinguards
• footwear

Today the terms of this regulation has been under great dispute. The game of football no longer includes the classic jersey, shorts, and stockings ensemble. Players today step onto the pitch in snoods, tights, and even pink boots. Spectators and managers all over the world are beginning to question the direction of the game and these antics, their claim "the game is getting soft." These doubters may be right, today's game has an abundance of fairies (Exhibit A: Manchester United), but luckily we have players like Franck "Quasimoto" Ribery and Bastian "the Ultimate German" Schweinsteiger to save us and our beautiful game. Highlighted under shinguards of Law 4, the rule explicitly states players must wear proper shin protection.



The two Bayern stars have opted to bypass this rule, not to provide an extra layer of protection, but to show the rugged, physical, and hard aspect of the game still exists. Bastien and Franck don't wear shinguards and don't back-out of challenges because they play the game how it should be played, full of passion and endless commitment. The modern game is changing, player wages are outlandish and coaches are unfairly sacked, but subtleties like Franck's and Bastien's fearless approach to the game will keep the foundations of our game intact and at least prevent the game of football from breaking.



(via FIFA)