(Reprinted with permission from Ask a Referee)

Question:
A player was wearing a knee brace, which the referee determined to not be dangerous. The player had altered the shinguard on that leg, removing some of the top, to make the shinguard fit below the brace. The alteration was not dangerous in itself. The other shinguard was not altered and provided reasonable protection.

My response was that this alteration was acceptable. I also suggested that use of a smaller size shinguard that would not have to be altered might resolve the issue.

USSF answer (August 29, 2002):
As both the IFAB and FIFA have stated, soccer is a tough, competitive, contact sport in which people can be hurt. The referee's duty to ensure player safety safety cannot extend to making the sport harmless.

A sensible guideline for shinguards is that they must be worn properly, under normal circumstances they must not have been altered, and they must be recognizably manufactured as shinguards by a reputable company. Alterations of the shinguard to make it more protective are acceptable, while alterations to make the shinguard less protective are not acceptable. In this case, the shinguard was altered to make it safer for the player in question. If a smaller, unaltered shinguard had provided the same protection, it would have been acceptable as well.