I am currently watching the UEFA EURO 2016 matches and I saw the referees checking the shoes of the players.
What are they looking for?
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Sign up to join this communityThe check at the start of the game is a simple safety check.
There are no specific rules governing types of footwear except that they "should not be dangerous".
In practice this means that the ref is looking for:
Note: I'm aware of how ridiculous this all looks in the context of a major competition, it really is a matter of the ref just ticking the boxes. At an amateur level however, these problems occur regularly enough (especially the first point) that it's worth checking.
I think it goes back to the fifties when the cleats were nailed to the sole of the shoes. The leather of the cleats would wear and expose the nail ends. That is what the referee would look for.