Question:
I was coaching my daughter’s u10 game and a younger ref did the equipment check… I have a girl on the team who has softball/baseball cleats on – they have a plastic stub on the front it is a smaller stud not one that want of great length – he informed her that he had to cut the stub off or change shoes… I told him that I am an R8 Ref and I had looked at the cleats and wanted to know what was unsafe on them… he said that he dose not allow baseball style cleats regardless if they metal or not… I told him I did not agree with the interpretation but it was his game so she played in a spectator’s shoes (they swapped) …
So I have 2 questions:
Cutting off a stud on the fields — I have to say that getting a knife and cutting off the stud could leave “shaper” or uneven edges… I would call that more unsafe…
Where in the rules does it say baseball cleats as a whole are not legal?
I clearly remember in the this years re-cert class that baseball cleats are legal in USSF if they are safe; unsafe in my opinion would be metal… or if the front stud sticks out farther then the others. I did not want to disagree with the ref and tell him I was a ref and he was wrong as it was his game but I would like to have a better understanding for future to tell this parent if they need to get new cleats and I can address it with the club and the assigner.
USSF answer (March 26, 2008):
It is illegal to play soccer in football or baseball cleats of the traditional sort with toe cleats, even if the toe cleats are cut off. There is no documentation on this, other than the requirement that players’ equipment must be safe for them and all participants. Traditional football and baseball cleats are unsafe and not permitted in soccer games. In any event, the final decision rests on the opinion of the referee.
