Why Do Footballers Cut Their Socks?

Whilst you may have noticed professional footballers wearing different socks from the ankle down, at lower league levels, kit men and sunday league football managers have been enraged.

The latest fad to sweep the footballing nation is to cut the bottom off the team socks, and wear different [white] sports socks on their feet. The divide between the two socks is often masked with a few wraps of Football Sock Tape.

But what benefit is the cutting of socks meant to bring?

The theory behind this is to replace the terribly slippy, uncomfortable team socks with better fitting socks with more traction – to get better grip when weaving in and out of opposition players in their hi-tech boots.

Eagle eyed referees are now getting wise to this technique, and as explained in our article ‘What is the football sock tape rule?’, referees get incredibly confused when football socks in particular contain more than one colour. Match officials are beginning to clamp down on it, so beware!

Alternatively, find sports socks of the same colour as your team socks, and cover safely with sock tape.