Why You’re Not Allowed To Say “Leave It” In A Football Match ❌

Although no particular words are illegal to say on a football pitch, you can still get carded for saying things like “Leave it” or “Mine”.

And this is because, by law in football, you’re not allowed to verbally distract an opponent during play or restarts, which could happen by shouting “leave it”, as players won’t always know whether it’s an opponent or teammate saying it.

It counts as being unsportsmanlike and therefore the referee can issue a card if they see this happening.

So instead, for situations where a player wants their teammate to leave the ball, they’ll come up with code names.

And of course general communication on the pitch is always needed and is allowed, it only becomes a problem if what you’re saying causes confusion and leads to an advantage being gained.