The rules of soccer prohibit players from wearing jewelry, including necklaces, rings, bracelets, earrings, leather bands, rubber bands, etc. (Exception: medical bracelets are allowed if they are taped to the wrist.)
We recommend players leave jewelry at home. Removing jewelry at the fields can easily lead to misplacing or losing the item(s), which usually leads to tears.
Earrings
Players are not allowed to play while wearing earrings, even if they are taped. Referees are trained to offer two choices to players who are wearing earrings:
- You can remove the earrings and play.
- You can leave the earrings in and sit on the bench.
Young players tend to melt down if this happens, which leads to a crying spree. This ruins what should be a fun atmosphere!
The ref isn’t the bad girl/guy — the ref is just doing her/his job. The ref isn’t even handing down a ruling — the ref is asking the player to make her own decision. The referee’s word is final. Coaches won’t negotiate with the ref to allow jewelry.
Here’s advice to referees from a referee assignor: “We had a serious injury because a player played with earrings. NOT ACCEPTABLE. It will not happen again IF each and every ref does their job”.