I remember playing in a local Sunday League match in the 1970s and one of our team played wearing an earring. He received a lot of stick that morning from teammates, the opposition and from the supporters on the touchline.

At half time he took the earring out and we never saw it again. How times have changed.

This memory came back to me last week when I received a couple of e-mails from refereeing colleagues who recalled serious injuries during matches involving players who wore jewellery.

The first incident involved a keeper who was wearing an earring which was small and tight to the ear. A corner kick was taken and a number of players, including the keeper, jumped for the ball. The ball was cleared upfield and as all the players cleared the penalty area, the keeper was lying on the ground holding his ear which was streaming blood. His earlobe had been ripped and the earring could not be found. A few minutes later a teammate found the earring - caught in his shirt sleeve.

The second incident also involved a keeper who was wearing a thick gold chain around his neck. He received a serious neck wound when a signet ring, worn by a centre forward, caught in the chain, which resulted in the chain tightening around his neck and drawing blood.

The third incident involved a player wearing a wedding ring. Following a goal-line clearance his ring caught in the hooks holding the net. The ring was badly damaged and the player was fortunate not to lose a finger.

The three players all had to receive hospital treatment for their injuries but all three incidents were accidents and could have been avoided.

The laws of the game state a 'player must not use or wear anything which is dangerous to himself or another player (including any kind of jewellery)'. But how often do we see, at all levels of the game, players continuing to wear jewellery?

Some leagues enforce a 'no jewellery rule' but most do not. To avoid similar incidents there is a simple answer, always remove all items of jewellery before every game, to avoid the risk of injury.

If you have any comments or views to share with me, contact me via the Darlington Referees' Society website www.darlingtonreferees.freeserve.co.uk.