THE Herne Bay and Whitstable League have rescinded their decision to ban metal blade-studded football boots. The league overturned the ban at its latest meeting y saying they had “no other option than to lift the ban on the above type of boots with immediate effect.”

They were forced to act after Adidas, whose blade-studded Predator boots are worn by David Beckham and hundreds of amateur players, approached the FA after hearing about the ban. The FA told Adidas that the referee was the sole arbiter of what was dangerous on a football pitch and that the league was wrong to impose the ban.

Both the FA and the KCFA, to whom the Sunday league are affiliated, wrote to the league instructing them that they were not authorised to ban the studs. Chairman of the Sunday League, Martin Naylor, issued a statement saying: “At the October meeting of the Herne Bay and Whitstable League, written instruction from both the Football Association and the KCFA was presented to the League Council. Whilst it has been recognised that our league has acted in good faith and that our principal concern is player safety, we have been told that ‘it is not within the authority of a league to ban equipment upon the allegation that it is dangerous.’

“As a consequence, we have no other option than to lift the ban on the above type of boots with immediate effect. The responsibility as to whether these boots, or any other type of player equipment ‘is dangerous to himself or another player’ now rests solely with the referee, and we shall be writing to our officials informing them of this.”

Adidas said: “We’re pleased the league has lifted its ban on blade-style football boots, of which we are one manufacturer. Player safety is obviously a big priority for us. This is why our studs are tested to the highest international safety standards.

“And it is also the reason why bodies such as FIFA have confirmed that the outsoles of our boots are ‘no more dangerous to other players during matchplay than other traditional soccer outsoles.’

“The FA has also confirmed that it is satisfied that the boots in question have been subject to the most rigorous testing and checking by the relevant authorities.

“We’ll be staying in touch with the league and will listen to any further concerns they may have. But we believe this decision is the right one and we’re pleased that players who have bought the boots won’t suffer as a result.”

The ban on the blade studs was enforced after two players suffered nasty gashes.

Both Jeremy Baines, of Tyler Hill Reserves, and Paul Howland, of Anaheim, needed stitches in the wounds.

Blade studded boots, which are also made by Nike and Umbro, can cost up to £150 and the ban prompted protests from clubs and players who had just bought their footwear.

Adidas said that their Traxion studs, which are made of magnesium, had undergone extensive testing by independent laboratories and had passes all FIFA safety standards. They had also obtained the Nova Mundial boots that caused the injury to Jeremy Baines and were examining them.

Mr Naylor, who is also a local referee, said he did not want to expand on the league’s statement, but added that he would be considering his position as a referee.

“Speaking purely as a referee, I am having second thoughts as to whether to carry on refereeing if I am going to go out on the pitch wondering whether I am going to be sued if a player gets injured.”

Richard Baines, secretary of Chartham, one of the teams who protested against the ban, said the decision to ban the boots had obviously been hasty: “The league should have thought more carefully about this,” he added.