Why can't white socks be worn at Stamford Bridge?

Every house has its own rules and at Stamford Bridge it is forbidden to wear white socks with the exclusion of Chelsea. No favoritisms or exemptions, every team must follow this simple rule. Back in the 1964/65 season Chelsea decided to revolutionize their look by going from white shorts with dark blue or black socks to shorts of the same blue shape of the jersey combined with white socks. This decision was taken by Tommy Docherty, Chelsea’s coach back then, who decided to pick this color combination to give the club a more distinctive characteristic so that it could have been recognized immediately as no other teams in England used this combination at the time. A brave choice that turned out to be the right one as it allowed Chelsea to create their own traditions when it comes to style. The consequence is that as of today at Stamford Bridge you can find some stylish unicum that can be hardly replicated in other grounds.

In this regard, the most striking case must be the Real Madrid’s one with the Merengues that only for their trips in the Blues part of London dirtying their traditional full white kit. It happened in the 2020/21 season; it happened last season and it will happen this season too when Carlo Ancelotti’s side will play against Chelsea for the second leg of the Champions League’s quarter finals. As it happened on the previous two occasions, Real Madrid will wear socks from the second or the third jersey combining black or navy-blue socks to their white jerseys and shorts. You can even say that is a tribute to Real Madrid’s original kit as the club only in 1955 decided to switch from black socks to white socks. Obviously, Real Madrid is not the only team that has to oblige to the no white socks rule. Premier League, Champions League, Fa Cup, Europa League, League Cup: no matter of the competition, Chelsea at home always play with white socks forcing the opponent teams to make a choice; either using kits with no white socks or change the style of a kit designed with white socks.

It must be pointed out that there is no romanticism in all of this, it is no tacit agreement or an unwritten rule that clubs are willing to accept. It is a matter of regulations related to broadcasting deals. Every single football competition does not allow two teams to wear the same color in any part of the outfield players’ kits so that the audience at home don’t get confused. An obligation that must be followed without discussions and that is forcing kit suppliers to change the way they design second and third jerseys. Basically, all the kits are now made in monochrome, the simplest way to respect this rule, leaving the privilege of a suit-separate to the home jersey with shorts and socks in either white or black depending on the occasions. UEFA is no stranger to these rules, and they require teams to follow these guidelines: no team can share a color on the pitch. Chelsea force more than any other team their opponent to modify their kits but in the past there has been similar cases, like the one of Valencia and PSV Eindhoven with their white socks combined with black shorts.