Question:
In trying to give parents of our young referees some ideas for Christmas, I was going to offer the suggestion of a second color jersey.
Yellow is “primary” but in your opinion (or perhaps it’s written somewhere), what is the succession of other colors a referee should have. I’ve understood it to be black, then red, then blue (and, now I see in Official Sports, the color green — as they wore on the MLS finals).
USSF answer (December 7, 2007):
There is no order of succession. Referees are required to have the gold jersey (see below), but are free to wear whichever shirt they like, provided (1) it does not cause a color conflict with one of the teams and (2) each member of the crew wears the same color and sleeve length. It is perhaps best to see which colors most referees in your area have. That would prove more economical in the long run.
For those who delve further: The order given in the Referee Administrative Handbook (RAH) is solely one of convenience; it reflects the order in which the new jerseys were introduced, and has no other, more significant meaning. “Primary” in the RAH means only that the gold jersey is one that every referee must have, as it is least likely to conflict with player jerseys. It does not mean that referees must wear it in preference to the other colors.
