But what happened in the head of Jules Koundé? Aligned in the starting lineup of Didier Deschamps to face Poland in the round of 16 of the World Cup, the tricolor defender appeared on the meadow with a gold chain around his neck. It took until the 42nd minute for the refereeing body to notice this breach and ask the Barça side to remove the object.
The players are however obliged to remove their jewelry before entering the lawn, under the regulations imposed by Ifab, the council of the international football association. “Covering jewelry with adhesive tape is not allowed”, also specifies article 4.1 of the body responsible for determining and changing the rules of football.
security reasons
The wearing of this chain by Jules Koundé is all the more incomprehensible since each player is supposed to be inspected by the refereeing body before the game kicks off. “If a player wears or uses an unauthorized or dangerous object or jewellery, the referee must order the player to remove the article or to leave the field at the next stoppage of play if he cannot or does not want to to execute”, adds the Ifab in its regulations. The protocol was therefore obviously not respected by Mr. Jesus Valenzuela, the Venezuelan referee of this France-Poland.
However, the wearing of jewelry has not always been prohibited by the various regulations. We remember in particular this chain regularly worn by Zinédine Zidane or this wedding ring that the Brazilian Rivaldo or the Spaniard Raul kept during the matches. It is security imperatives that have prompted Ifab to tighten the instructions in this area. The authority estimated that these jewels could prove to be dangerous in the event of scuffles in particular. In case of refusal to comply, the incriminated player exposes himself to a warning.