<p class="reg-lead">The International Handball Federation's Regulations on Protective Equipment and Accessories, in force from 1 July 2025.</p>
<table class="reg-facts">
<tr><td>In force</td><td><b>1 July 2025</b> — International Handball Federation</td></tr>
<tr><td>Structure</td><td>Standalone regulations, supplementing Rule 4 of the Rules of the Game</td></tr>
<tr><td>Status</td><td><strong>Current edition</strong> — with illustrated examples of permitted and prohibited items</td></tr>
</table>
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<h2>What these regulations determine</h2>
<p>The document has two parts: the <strong>basic provisions</strong>, followed by a long section of <strong>examples</strong> illustrating clothing and undergarments, upper-body and lower-body protective equipment, head and face items and other accessories. Rule 4 of the Rules of the Game refers to players' equipment, and the details of what is permitted and prohibited are set out in this document.</p>
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<h2>Rules on clothing and equipment</h2>
<ol class="reg-tl">
<li><b class="t">Compression undergarments</b>Players may wear compression clothing — shorts, full-length leggings or long sleeves — under their kit.</li>
<li><b class="t">Colour-matching of visible undergarments</b>Items worn under the shirt must <strong>match the dominant colour of the shirt</strong>, and items worn under the shorts must match the dominant colour of the shorts — with one exception: <strong>black undergarments</strong> are permitted regardless of the dominant colour of the shorts. The colour of the undergarments must be the same for all players of a team.</li>
<li><b class="t">Invisible undergarments</b>These restrictions do not apply to undergarments that are not visible.</li>
<li><b class="t">Referees are also covered</b>The same provisions apply to referees.</li>
<li><b class="t">Socks and leg equipment</b>The socks of all players of a team must be of the same colour, and any equipment worn on the leg — compression leg sleeves, ankle protectors and the like — must <strong>match the colour of the socks</strong>.</li>
<li><b class="t">Head and face</b>A separate section is devoted to head and face items, an area in which the safety of other players is decisive.</li>
</ol>
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<h2>Who this document matters to</h2>
<p>For teams, a breach of these provisions can be remedied before the start of the match, but after that it leads to sanction: the Regulations on Sanctions and Fines contain a separate article on <strong>violations of the IHF equipment provisions</strong>.</p>
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Notes related to the tag protective_equipment

IHF Regulations on Protective Equipment and Accessories 2025