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Fifa considers snood ban

Image: Samir Nasri wearing a snood

Fifa is set to discuss whether snoods should be banned on safety grounds at an IFAB meeting.

Neck-warmers to be discussed at March meeting

Fifa is set to discuss whether snoods should be banned on safety grounds at an International FA Board meeting. The neck-warmers have become a popular trend in the Premier League this season after they emerged during the previous campaign. A number of top-flight stars such as Carlos Tevez and Samir Nasri are regular wearers of snoods, but they could be banned as they are not officially-sanctioned kit. Certain clubs have already prohibited players from donning snoods internally, with Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson banning them outright. The IFAB, the game's law-making body, will discuss the issue on 5th March and a decision is then set to be made. A Fifa spokesman said: "We want a debate over the snood and whether it could be dangerous. "There may be a safety issue - if for example a player was running through on goal and an opponent grabbed his snood, that could pose a potential danger to his neck."

Criticism

Snoods have divided opinion in the footballing world, with sceptics questioning their arrival in the modern game. Roy Keane has declared his opposition to the garment, saying: "They've all gone soft. I don't know how they do it and focus on the game, it's weird. That's the way the game's gone." Meanwhile, Fifa is also looking to clarify the rules for referees allowing play to stop when an object - such as another ball, or an animal - comes onto the pitch. This comes after Sunderland were awarded a controversial goal last season against Liverpool despite Darren Bent's shot flying in off a beach ball. Fifa's submission to the IFAB says: "There are many times when objects may enter the field of play, and it is unclear in the current text of the Laws of the Game which decision the referee should take when an object interferes with play, and which decision the referee should take when an object does not interfere with play." Other issues up for discussion at the meeting include the colour of players' tights and the use of 'vanishing spray' by referees to mark out the line where a defensive wall should not cross.