Six players from Bath City’s youth football team were sent off during an FA Youth Cup match after a row erupted over the colour of their pants.
Referee Darren Adie sent two players to the sidelines to change after he spotted that they were wearing cycling shorts under their red kits – one player had a white pair on, while the other was wearing a black pair.
FA’s Law 4 states that “If undershorts are worn they must be of the same main colour as the shorts.”
As the pair were forced to change in front of more than 200 spectators, opposing team Newport County scored a goal.
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As tensions escalated, a further two players were sent off, together with a substitute and the team’s manager.
Bath’s chairwoman Manda Rigby called the referee’s insistence that the boys change their underwear at the side of the pitch “inappropriate”.
She said: “They went to the side of the pitch, which was probably a little humiliating for them to strip down and take their underpants off.
“So you can understand that their team-mates and our manager were a little frustrated.”
The game ended with Bath losing 6-0.
Bath’s managing director Paul Williams said he didn’t understand why officials hadn’t checked the colours of players’ kits before kick off.
He added: “Every team has to submit a report about the officials to the FA. Let’s just say ours is a very long report.”
