For this article I went all in doing research on the rules of the game. Surprisingly enough there haven’t been too many instances, at least in the pro game, where a goalkeeper is caught using a foreign substance to improve their performance. Which seems rather awkward because in American football for example there was the whole stick em era. That substance was sort of like a paste that players would put all over their hands. In a sense Gloveglu is the modern version of that. Stick em was banned from American football, does this mean Gloveglu is going to see the same fate in our football? Is Gloveglu legal? That’s what we’re going to try and find out.
The first thing that I want to point out is that the rules haven’t exactly caught up to Gloveglu. There’s nothing in the rules that would state that specifically that using a foreign substance to improve the grip on your gloves is illegal. On those grounds, the answer to “Is Gloveglu legal”, is yes. I’m going to say it again there’s currently nothing in the rules that specifically states you can’t use a foreign substance to improve grip on your gloves.
In true FIFA fashion there’s actually a rule against sponsorship on gloves, but there’s no set rule that limits glove weight or these sticky substances. Now, the fact that it’s not illegal doesn’t mean that you can’t get in trouble for it. That’s something that I want to dive deeper into because the rules are essentially not set in stone in football. Everything comes down to the ruling of the referee.
Is Gloveglu Legal – Why The Answer Is Yes & No
The answer to “Is Gloveglu legal” is as we mentioned in the most technical sense a yes because there’s literally nothing in the rules that say you can’t use a similar substance. The rules say that goalkeepers are allowed to wear goalkeeper gloves, they also have the ability to wear long pants which field players technically don’t. What the rules ban is wearing something that could put other players at risk. What about Gloveglu is putting other players at risk? If we’re getting really picky this part of the rules could’ve banned finger spines on gloves or as they are commonly known Fingersave gloves. The metal rods on the glove when you close your fists with those first models could potentially hurt your teammate or an opposing player in a play when you’re trying to punch the ball out.
When it comes to Gloveglu there’s really not something that you could say about the substance to justify the fact that it would have the potential to hurt another player. What could happen if your glove gets stuck to the cleats of the other player? What would that even be? The problem with the rules of the beautiful game though is that the ref has ultimate power and can interpret them in any way they see fit. Even though Gloveglu does not go against the rules that dictate what you can or can’t wear it may be considered unsportsmanlike. Technically it would have to be sanctioned the same way as a dive or deliberately confusing the other player through what is commonly known as a technical foul. It’s pretty vague though, to say the least.
Treat It Like Any Other Thing That You Could Use To Get An Edge
This site was never intended to condone cheating or anything like that. At this point in time though all of the rules of the game are meant to make goalkeeping harder. Just take a look at the rules that are in place for penalty kicks. You can’t even have one foot off the line anymore. We’re talking about the play in football where the goalkeeper is most vulnerable, and they are still making it harder on us. Is trying to get a bit more grip all that bad when you look at how some of these rules are set up? I don’t think it’s that bad, in fact I don’t think that the advantage of using Gloveglu is that great, but we’ll get into that later.
Having said all of this, if you’re going to use Gloveglu make sure that you don’t make it too obvious. Gloveglu is not the sticky substance that Stick em is so really there’s not a big issue in that department. All I would say though is that if you feel that your gloves are extra sticky that day you may want to refrain from shaking the ref’s hands with your gloves on. Refs really don’t pay too much attention to goalkeeper equipment as it is. So just don’t put yourself in a situation where you could get into trouble for using this little hack. If you keep your gloves away from the refs you’re going to be fine. It’s your conscience ultimately that you have to deal with.
Can Gloveglu Really Provide A Competitive Advantage?
Yes, and no would be my answer to this one, and that’s why I’m not going to be the immaculate goalkeeper that condones the use of Gloveglu. The fact of the matter is, if Gloveglu becomes illegal then there are some gloves out there that you shouldn’t be able to use in a game right out of the box. When gloves are brand new, at least some gloves, they can be just as sticky as a pair that you just sprayed Gloveglu. If we were talking about another era where gloves were not that sticky to begin with and there was something that just put the grip on another level then maybe we would be having an entirely different conversation.
At this point though, if you take Gloveglu, and you spray decent gloves not even the cheapest options out there, they’re going to become as sticky as some of the top tier gloves are naturally. That’s why I’m saying that using Gloveglu does not necessarily provide a competitive advantage that goes above and beyond. What if you went out though and added Gloveglu to brand new gloves? Wouldn’t that be a major competitive advantage? Sure those gloves would potentially be stickier than anything else that you could find naturally on the market. I can certainly concede to that. It would bring up another point though, that is important to look into!
Why Too Much Gloveglu Is Potentially Not A Great Idea
We could make the argument that sticky gloves are great. Most people would certainly prefer to have sticky gloves than to have gloves that the ball just doesn’t stick to at all. With that said, there’s a point where getting the gloves stickier won’t help. Hard shots are still going to bounce off your hands. Let’s be perfectly clear about that! Especially if you don’t have the proper technique to be able to deal with these shots. In fact, there’s an argument to be made that you could be increasing your injury risk with gloves that are too sticky. The impact of the ball on the glove may not be dissipated as it should through the hand. This can lead to broken fingers and wrists.
On the performance side of things too much stickiness may make it harder for you to be able to guide any save that you make towards a safe location. What I mean by that is, if you’re not able to make the catch cleanly the ball may just bounce off the glove and fall right in front of you causing you to give a very clear second chance opportunity. Any time a ball is hit hard enough you’re going to be shaking because it could mean you’re going to get hurt, or you may give up a second chance right in front of the goal. If you ease up a little bit on the Gloveglu and just keep the gloves at their natural grip rate you’ll be better off. At least that is how I see it.
Clean Your Gloves Regardless Of Whether You Want To Use Glove Glue or Not
Cleaning your gloves accordingly is going to allow you to take full advantage of whatever additive you want to use. With Gloveglu on dirty gloves what you can find is that you may have to use a bit more to get the same effect. I’ve talked about this in other parts of the site, and I have to be honest I’ve been getting lazy myself and haven’t taken my own advice. When dirt particles, or rubber pellets start to engrave themselves in your gloves you may start feeling like you’re losing a lot of grip. It can seem really awkward to the naked eye because at times the glove itself isn’t ripped or anything like that to where you can clearly see that you have a problem.
So what happens is that when you use Gloveglu you’re still going to have those particles stuck in the glove that are going to make it slick. The solution may not be to go ahead and waste a whole bottle of Gloveglu to try and make the gloves sticky again. What you want to do in those situations is make sure that you clean the glove thoroughly, and let it dry or get active about the drying process. We have an article on that as well! Once that is done though, then you can go ahead and add the Gloveglu. That’s what’s going to bring you the best results across the board. Clean gloves are the base of everything else that you want to do.
Is Gloveglu Legal – Is It Worth Buying?
One of the things that caught my attention when I made my purchase of Gloveglu was that at least in my neck of the woods the product was not that cheap. I could buy a medium tier new pair of gloves, in fact the ones I’m wearing now are cheaper than just the Gloveglu grip liquid. The brand has a full family of glove care products that you can also use to clean your gloves. That kind of hits home my point about cleaning your glove and then adding the liquid to be able to make it sticky. The price tag really threw me off, I was not expecting that.
With the price in mind it becomes way more important to make sure that you use it wisely. If you’re going to be able to extend the grip level on your gloves a couple of months, particularly if you’re playing in grass, and they don’t rip, then it makes sense to buy it. For people who play in really rough fields it can be a harder sell for sure. Just based on the real results that you can expect to get with the product. I would say though that it’s worth a look even if it’s just a novelty product.
Is Gloveglu Legal Conclusion
I don’t want to say it’s only cheating if you get caught, but this is a tough case. There’s no direct rule that says that a goalkeeper can’t use an additive to improve the grip on their gloves. There’s literally nothing in the rules about that. As I mentioned though, the thing with the rules of this beautiful game is that the ref in each match can interpret them as they see fit. There was a case for example of a player literally kicking a dog to get it off the field. The ref decided to red card the player. There’s no rule that says if a dog comes onto the field you can’t kick it. That decision was down to the ref.
Knowing this the best advice that I can give is that if you’re going to use Gloveglu then you want to make sure that you don’t get near any of the refs with those gloves. If you feel that morally you’re doing things wrong that’s up to you. I don’t really want to get into that dilemma because it’s a never ending one. Don’t we all wash our gloves, and want to use them when they’re new because they have the best grip? Why not use something to prolong that feeling? I don’t know, there are worse things you can do that impact the game a lot more.
