Kit (association football)
Equipment
Referees, assistant referees and fourth officials wear kits of a similar style to that worn by players; until the 1950s it was more common for a referee to wear a blazer than a jersey. Although not specified in the rules, it is considered a principle of football that officials wear shirts of a different colour to those worn by the two teams and their goalkeepers. Black is the traditional colour worn by officials, and "the man in black" is widely used as an informal term for a referee, although increasingly other colours are being used in the modern era to minimise colour clashes. The 1994 World Cup was the first in which FIFA dispensed with black kits for officials. In 1998 Premier League referee David Elleray was forced to change his black shirt for a white one midway through a match between Aston Villa and Wimbledon as it was deemed too similar to the navy blue worn by the Wimbledon players. Referees also sometimes have sponsors' logos on their shirts, although these are normally confined to the sleeves.
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