Earrings are one of the most common types of piercings and it’s not surprising to know that the number of people with earrings is huge.
If you or one of your children have earrings and if either of you are interested in playing soccer, then you’ll need to know what soccer says about earrings and whether or not you should play soccer with taped earrings.
Starting with what the soccer rules say…
Are earrings allowed in soccer?
Earrings are not allowed in soccer along with any other jewelry that poses a safety risk to the player themselves or to any other player on the field. Soccer referees are required by the laws of the game to not allow any player with an earring to play and to caution them if they resist.
Here are the details…
In soccer, the choice of whether to allow a player to wear something other than the official soccer wearables is always up to the referee of the match.
Since the laws of the game can’t write a rule for every single wearable item out there, the referees are requested by the soccer laws to use their knowledge and intuition to decide whether what a player is wearing can be dangerous or not.
However, there are certain wearables that are specifically categorized by the laws of the game as dangerous.
For example, the referees are instructed to not allow any player to wear any jewelry that are known to frequently cause damage on the field for some of the players.
Are earrings one of these jewelry? Yes they are. Earrings are included in the list of dangerous wearables that should not be allowed during a soccer game.
In other words, earrings can be very dangerous for you or your child during a soccer game, and referees are usually not going to allow you or your child to keep them on while playing.
You might get away with convincing the referee to let you keep your harmless rubber band provided that you cover it with tape.
However, you shouldn’t even try to convince the referee to let you keep your earrings during a soccer game even if these earrings are new.
If you are not convinced yet, here are some arguments that might make you change your mind.
Why you shouldn’t keep your earrings on during a soccer game.
1- You will put yourself in danger.
I myself didn’t take the dangers of earrings in soccer seriously until I learned about the absolute terror that they can cause on the soccer field.
There are a large number of stories about children getting their ears severely damaged with blood everywhere on the soccer field just because they were wearing their earrings during the game.
Remember that soccer is a contact sport. In order to perform well on the field, you will absolutely have to come in contact with your opponents many times.
Any of these encounters can put the involved players in danger if any of them is wearing earrings or other dangerous jewelry.
Here is one scenario of what might go wrong when you play soccer with earrings:
A ball might hit your head with a lot of strength and if that ball reaches your pierced ear, then the damage can be huge.
Soccer players will encounter a lot of scenarios during which they are supposed to hit the ball with their head. These scenarios can pose a health risk if the players are wearing jewelry.
Remember that even taped earrings might still cause damage since a ball coming towards your ear at a high speed is no joke at all.
Another scenario is that the earring gets stuck in one of the other players’ jerseys, and that might cause your ear a lot of damage. While this scenario is rare, it is horrifying when it happens, and it is always better to be safe than sorry.
2 – The referee might be held accountable.
Depending on where you live, the referee of the game might be held accountable if a player gets injured because of earrings or any other dangerous equipment that was worn by them or by any other player.
In other words, the laws in some states and countries require the referee to eliminate any obvious source of danger during a soccer game. If the referees do not comply, they might face lawsuits and serious trouble if any damage takes place during the game.
So in other words, even if your earrings are new, it is always best not to try and convince the referee to let you keep your earrings on during a soccer game, because you will be putting them and yourself in danger.
This brings me to the next question.
How to deal with new earrings as a soccer player?
Here are 2 options that you can consider :
- Don’t play at all after piercing your ear during the season [The best option]
- Only pierce your ears during off season
1- Do not play at all.
It’s alright if you as a soccer player miss a few soccer matches due to some health related issue. After all, soccer is supposed to be for entertainment and putting your health at risk for a soccer game isn’t a great thing to do.
The soccer rules in general exist to put safety first above all other things. Even the greatest soccer players of our time had to miss some of their most important soccer matches just because of the health risks that these matches could put them through.
In other words, missing a few soccer games because you’re not allowed to remove your new earrings should be okay.
2- Only pierce your ears during off season.
If you haven’t gotten your earrings yet, one thing you can do is ask your coach if they can afford to not have you on the team for a number of weeks.
If that’s an option, then you can go ahead and get your earrings. If your coach desperately needs you on the field though, then you can always postpone getting your earrings till when the soccer competition that you’re competing in comes to an end.
off-seasons are usually long and they will give you enough time to pierce your ear and wait for it to heal before participating in any soccer match.
So by now, we know that the best option is to not play soccer with earrings at all. But what about some simple practice sessions just to keep your body fit during your off time?
Some soccer practice sessions do not include any physical contact with other people and they are meant to keep the players in shape while they aren’t active.
Should you keep your new earrings on during practice sessions?
I would advise against putting yourself in danger for any kind of activity that might cause your ear to get infected or injured.
But if you and your soccer coach 100% insist that the practice session is not going to be intensive and is not going to make you come in contact with anybody, then at least tape your ear before you go into the practice session.
It’s always a good idea to ask your doctor about what kinds of activities you can get involved in while wearing your earrings, and it’s also a good idea to ask them about which athletic tape you should use if you were allowed to do some practice.
How to tape your ear?
Just make sure that they’re completely covered and that no dirt will reach them during the game.
Also make sure that the needles of your earrings are covered in case a ball hits you close to your ear by accident. Try putting something between the needles and your head but make sure that your doctor allows you to do this and ask them about what you should use in order to do this.
You can also use bandages instead to cover your ears if you want.
And always be careful. The needle can cause a lot of damage if your ear gets hit by the soccer ball so be extremely careful about this.
You can also wear a headband around your head to cover the tape too for extra safety measures.
However, keep in mind that even with tape, the risks are not completely eliminated.
Here are a few tips that might be useful when you keep your earrings on during a quick practice session.
Tips when wearing earrings in practice sessions.
1- Always keep a backup athletic tape with you.
Soccer practice sessions involve a lot of running and sudden movements. This means that the tape may fall off even if you are doing very basic exercises.
While it doesn’t always happen, it’s still possible. So always keep some extra tape with you in case your current tape falls off during the practice session.
2- Avoid headers at all costs.
You can always avoid headers in a practice session. You won’t forget how to head the soccer ball after a few weeks of inactivity, so you shouldn’t be worried about practicing your headers at all.
Just completely forget about headers while your taped earrings are on during a practice session.
3- Clean your earrings after the practice session.
A soccer practice session will make you sweat a lot, and it will definitely put you in contact with dirt and other things that might infect your ear if your earrings are new.
For this reason, you should clean your earrings after any soccer game. Contact your doctor and ask them about the best possible ways that you can use to clean your earrings after a soccer game. For your general knowledge, this Healthline article offers some tips and advice on how to clean your earrings.
SUMMARY
Soccer does not allow the players to wear earrings or any other jewelry that can put any of the players in danger during the game.
It is always best to avoid doing anything that might put your ear in danger when it is newly pierced. However, if after contacting your doctor, you are 100% convinced that some activities won’t harm your ear, then make sure that you take all the necessary safety precautions seriously before you do the activity.