Why do Soccer Players wear masks? | All you need to know

Have you been wondering when you are watching a football game and you see a player put on a face mask, Is it a fashion or what? Do footballers put on the mask for protection? or Do they put on the mask to heal fracture? Find out more as you continue to read the article.

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In this article we will explain why some players put on mask on their face. Sit back and enjoy surfing. If you would like to read this article with your coffee or a soft drink, I would advise you to get that now and enjoy as you read on.

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Why does a player wear mask on his face?

After some research, we have come up with various reasons why a soccer player would put on a mask on his face.

It is not actually for fashion, there is more of a reason why some footballers put on the mask and fashion isn't one of them.

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We have categorised the reasons why a football player might be wearing a mask on the field into two major reasons. Below are the two reasons;

  • For protection from Facial injuries
  • For healing of Facial fractures

I'd better explain the meaning of Facial injury before I go deep in explaining the reasons players make use of the face mask.

Facial injuries are the injuries that were acquired in the face. It could be any part of the face, ranging from the jaws, the nose, the skull, the eye brow, the ear, to the Chin. The above mentioned parts all belong to the facial parts where a player can be injured in the face.

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A player can get injured in any of this part if they get hit by other players in the face, or if they hit the face against any hard object. Facial injuries could be so painful and it requires proper care and this makes the use of Mask relevant in the care.

Reasons why a player wears a mask is explained just below, so take your time and and go through them.

Protection from Facial injuries

Do football players actually wear a face mask for protection? Definitely the answer is yes. The mask aren't for fashion neither are they for pranks. The masks you see on some of these footballers' faces are worn during the match for some purposes.

And that purpose is to save their face. They actually use mask sometimes for protection from Facial injuries. These are the injuries common to the face. Players actually wear the black masks as they might have undergone a surgery on the facial area.

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The black mask is then worn to prevent the face from more damages. An example is the case of Peter Czech. He wears his helmet always to avoid further damages on his Skull since he got injured during a match, hitting is head on a pole.

Sometimes the mask is worn to protect the nasal bone of a player who might have just had an injury in the nasal bone. We can look at the case of Demba Ba he used to wear mask towards the end of his career at Chelsea and this is because he was recovering from a Jaw injury.

He got the injury when he was kicked by Coloccini. The mask has to be worn to protect the Jaw from further damages. In a short way, we can say the mask functions as a protector and it’s more or less a protective device.

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To heal Facial fractures and injuries

The mask is worn by some football players to heal their facial injuries. The mask is used to hold the bones together so they can possibly cement together. The case of facial fracture always requires the use of mask.

For instance when you have a broken Jaw, broken nose or any part of the facial area is broken. You usually need something to hold it in place as you continue to apply treatment. The case of a broken bone in the leg can be used to explain this.

Here, the broken part of the leg is straightened and then a set of sticks or metal having a regular length is arranged around the broken part. The part is then bandaged together with the sticks or metal around it, this is important because it holds the leg in place and gives the broken bone a chance to cement together.

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It could take a whole lot of time before the leg could cement together, but the regular sticks or metal would still be bounded around the broken leg with the bandage.

As for the face the mask is perfect for the face as the sticks/metal with the bandage can not be used on the face. No that isn't likely, but with the aid of the face mask the broken nose is held in the right position.

And as time goes on with proper treatment and protection from futher injury (offered by the mask), the bone would cement together and such Player would recover. But if unfortunately any part if the facial bones are broken completely or beyond normal, it means the player would have to rely on the face mask probably for life.

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What are the benefits of face mask to soccer players?

There are a lot of things the face mask protect the players from, though it might not be convenient putting it on but it actually worth it. 

All this importance and benefits are all embedded in the reasons why a player wears the mask at first. So below are some of the benefits we highlighted;

  • It protects the face from Facial injuries
  • It helps in the holding of fractured bones together
  • It protects the face from further injuries
  • It reduces the pain of a facial fracture/injury
  • It keeps a player a bit save to play a key match even when he just had a surgery on a facial injury. 

Related Questions about Football players using face masks

Here are some of the questions relating to footballers using black masks. You might have one or two things you want to know more about.

Do football or soccer player wear the black face mask for fashion?

No, those masks are worn for protection.

Why did Rudiger wear a mask?

Antonio Rudiger wears a protective mask to shield and prevent his facial bones from further injuries. At Euro 2020 the German footballer was seen wearing the mask.

Why do football players wear face shield?

Face shield or face mask is worn by players to prevent their facial bones from further injuries probably their is an existing injury.

Opeyemi Odenusi

Hi, I'm Opeyemi, a fitness pro and a sport reseacher. I'm here to enlighten and share with you tips and hacks on how to improve your fitness and wellness and also to provide for you relevant informations on sport with a touch of fitness activities that can improve your well-being.

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