Concern raised as footballers go for less safe shin guards

Some of the shin guards worn by footballers nowadays are as small, as an ID card, hardly big enough to offer any reasonable protection to their shins. Some players, such as Gor Mahia’s Austin Odhiambo and Mathare United’s Musa Masika, have occasionally taken their aversion to wearing shin guards to worrying extremes by not wearing them at all.

“In a recent friendly match against Kibera Soccer, I was forced to take some players off because they were not wearing shin guards. I was disappointed that the referee allowed them to step on the pitch like that,” Omollo, a former Gor Mahia and Kenya Breweries player, said.

Omollo, 55, was already an active top-level footballer in 1990, when Fifa made it mandatory for footballers to wear shin guards, which have been in use in the sport since 1874 when the Englishman Sam Weller Widdowson invented them after resizing the leg guards he wore while playing cricket.

The latest trend takes the sport back to the pre-1990s, when footballers choose whether to wear shin guards or not.

“During my playing days, we wore high-knee shin guards, which came with ankle strapping. The practice continued until. Even now, when I play in veterans’ matches, I and other former players still wear them but younger footballers are a different breed,” Omollo, who also played for Harambee Stars, said. “Coaches and referees need to be stricter in ensuring players wear shin guards that provide adequate protection,” Omollo added.

Yet, Badir Yassin, a top-flight referee, says that match officials are not obligated to dictate to players what shin guards they should wear. Referring to Law 4.2 of the Laws of the Game, Yassin said referees are only obligated to ensure a player has worn shin guards of a “suitable material” and of “appropriate size”.

The law is not clear on what is “suitable material” and “appropriate size”, leaving judgment on that to referees.

“As long as the referee has judged that the material of the shin guard worn cannot cause injury to the player or another player, the player can enter the pitch with whatever he has decided to use as shin guards. The law places the duty on wearing shin guards that provide adequate protection on the player,” Yassin said.

Yassin’s remarks are a hint that shin guards have become more than just functional objects for modern day footballers, the same views held by KCB team manager Michael Oyando, Kenya Police defender Daniel Sakari, and Shabana winger Brian Michira.

“Some players consider old-school shin guards bulky and unfashionable. They prefer the small ones for aesthetics. Some players even go as far as wearing shin guards meant for kids,” Oyando, also a former footballer, said.

“Most players hardly wear shin guards when they train, so why play with them,” Sakari, who wears medium-sized plastic shin guards that do not outline underneath his socks, says.

Michira also prefers small shin guards because he likes playing with his socks rolled low. “Big shin guards are bulky and make it difficult to run with. The small ones provide more comfort,” Michira said, before adding that at his club, their coach Peter Okidi is strict on wearing shin guards during training. “He cannot allow you to train without them,” Michira said.

Sakari had an interesting response when asked whether players who wear such shin guards fear getting injured. “If you condition your mind not to worry about getting injured, it speaks to the universe and no injuries will come,” he said.

Omollo reckons the severe punishment for dangerous tackles has made players worry less about getting injured, hence giving them confidence to wear micro shin guards.

“Dangerous tackles were not punished severely before and that made some players wear even two shin guards for maximum protection. Right now, players are more protected but the risks remain and as such, players should wear shin guards that provide adequate protection to their knees, shin, and ankles,” Omollo said.