Before I jump right into the review, I have to take moment and acknowledge a milestone: for the first time, iTOOTR has been provided gear for review without having to pay for it! This is significant for two reasons. First, it means I can stay married, and second, we can review more gear for the referee community. The good folks at refereestore.com were kind enough to provide a Score Pro Elite referee jersey for review (along with other items we’ll be reviewing shortly). Soccersuperstoreusa.com is run by a pair of USSF National Referees and by all indications, they have very referee-friendly policies and pricing. Now, on with the review.
When reviewing jerseys, the key items we look for are quality of construction, color matching, and any features that are unique to the specific shirt we’re examining. The Score Pro referee jersey does well on two of these three key areas and receives a Referee Recommended rating from iTOOTR.
The Score Pro referee jersey, $27, http://www.refereestore.com (and others), is a well-constructed, well finished shirt.
The placket area features reinforcing interfacing on the back, which helps the shirt hold its’ shape and stand up to repeated washings.
The interfacing is also found on the OSI Pro jersey, but not on the Kwik Goal Premier jersey. The placket area is the same color as the rest of the jersey (the OSI Pro jersey features a contrasting black placket).
The shirt pockets are clipped at the corners, which prevents the corners from curling. Personally, I don’t care for the clipped corners, but I have had problems with the corners on my other jerseys not laying flat, so I understand the need. The pockets do not feature a pen channel, but the shirt does include a velcro sticker for the back of your referee badge.
One of the best features of the Score jersey is the cut, which is athletic when compared to the OSI and KG jerseys. Because of my height (6’2″ or 1.88m), I wear XL sized jerseys. XL jerseys are typically large through the waist and chest and I have a lot of excess material hanging off of me. The Score XL jersey is a good 1.5 to 2 inches smaller through the waist, and the sleeves are a bit shorter as well. I was pleased with this cut and felt like it fit me better than either the OSI or KG jerseys.
The finish of the polyester fabric is highly light reflective, which is similar to the KG jersey. The OSI Pro jerseys are slightly less “shiny” under sunlight.
The most significant drawback of the Score Pro jersey is the color. The sample I was provided to review was red, and there is noticeable difference in hue between the Score and OSI jerseys. While the OSI Pro jersey is a deep, fire-engine red, the Score Pro jersey is more muted. Unfortunately, all attempts to capture the color difference on camera were unsuccessful, owing in part to my limited photography skills and in part to the limitations of my new, but basic, point-and-shoot camera. My guess is that most non-referees wouldn’t notice the difference, save for maybe the walk-out when all three referees are standing next to each other.
Like the OSI and Kwik Goal shirts, the Score Pro Elite jersey is made of 100% polyester and is cared for by washing in cold water with similar colored items, and then tumbled dry on low.
In summary, the Score Pro referee jersey is recommended for all but the most serious of referees. If you are still building your referee career, sticking with the OSI Pro jersey is the safe choice, as you’re guaranteed to look good in any crew of other upper level referees. On the other hand, “seasoned veterans”, new referees, or those referees still holding on to the old single-stripe jerseys would do well to consider the Score Pro shirts. At a savings of $20 per shirt, a referee could save $100 on a complete set of all five colors when compared to the OSI jerseys. I see no reason for any referee to consider the OSI Economy line of jerseys when both the Score and KG shirts offer so many more features for roughly the same price.
Related: Summary Ratings of Referee Jerseys
In The Opinion Of The Referee 
11 responses to “Gear Review: Score Pro Referee Jersey”
Here’s my experience with Score (you’ll understand why I know nothing about Score referee uniforms once you read this).
I was running a small Club and ordered home/away outfits for 130 players in Black/White combinations in 2008. Score sent me white jerseys and blue jerseys with the other items.
After meeting with a Score representative twice (who had a copy of the order with black clearly noted) and being told they would be replaced, nothing. Six months later I was ”handed off” to another Score representative who offered to send me Coaches shirts instead – youth players can’t wear coaching gear.
I sent multiple emails and made multiple phone calls to Score – each has been met with empty promises and no action. I may have saved a few dollars by purchasing from Score (though I still have 130 unused blue jerseys), but my reputation suffered because of a lack of support from Score.
I can’t recommend anything by Score. As Gomer Pyle says ”Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”
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As a long-time wearer of Score jerseys, I was pleased to see a review on “In the Opinion of the Referee”. I’ve had good experiences with Score over the years service-wise, unlike the previous gentleman. I would second the review however on the color issue. It is particularly apparent in the green jerseys. The Score green is a noticeably lighter shade than the more “forest green” of the OSI jerseys. Yellow and blue (and black) jerseys have been more “true” to color. But, given the price differential, I can strongly recommend Score jerseys for all but the most advanced referees.
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Have you ever seen a score green? I hope you realize it looks a lot different from the OSI version.
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I hope you realize the Green is totally different from the OSI version. Final decision and law 5 are in general a lot closer to matching the shades from what I have seen of other referees.
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Either way. Someone needs to offer a competitive alternative as OSI charges way too much. No reason they need to be marked up so high.
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Larry, I couldn’t agree more.
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Glad the gear came free and saves your marriage! Are USSF referees not allowed to wear adidas World Cup 2010?
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Tell me if I am wrong, but I am pretty sure USSF only truly approves of OSI jerseys considering they have a contract with them and sponsoring another uniform by saying it is allowed would be breaking that contract…BUT state associations probably are leniant and so it isn’t a big deal to wear the Adidas jerseys as long as your state or assignor approves.
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Justin, you’re half right. Referees may wear any jerseys that conform to USSF specs. OSI certainly does, but so do a host of others. So, you can wear any shirt that meets the spec. Unfortunately, the Adidas shirts do not conform to spec.
That said, if a competition isn’t sanctioned by USSF, they would be free to use any jersey of their choosing.
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Thank you for the thorough review of our Pro Referee Jersey. I would like to address several points mentioned above:
1. While, as William pointed out, there may be different shopping experiences that vary from store to store, there is only one when shopping at SoccerSuperstoreUSA.com and it is the best of the best, literally. We stand by our products and more importantly, by our customers.
With our Triple Guarantee Policy every customer can return an item FREE of charge and with no hassle. In cases of returns, we not only refund your entire purchase price along with original shipping fees, but we also pay for the return shipping as well. No questions asked.
2. As Mike correctly clarified above, USSF referees are allowed to wear any referee jersey/uniform that conforms to the specs outlined by USSF. Our uniforms sport the very same design as OSI’s and are very widely used at the games of all levels. I myself, a National Referee have used those uniforms while refereeing at both, amateur and professional levels in 2012 with no problems. SoccerSuperstoreUSA.com has even entered into several partnerships at local and state levels to become the supplier of referee uniforms to all newly certified USSF referees.
In closing, I would like to thank Mike and ITOOTR for the review and invite everyone to visit http://www.SoccerSuperstoreUSA.com for the best and most customer friendly shopping experience ever.
Thanks,
Rafal Wlazlo, ENY National Referee
Founder, Executive Director of SoccerSuperstoreUSA
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I’ve worn Score Elite jerseys for several years and have been pleased with the quality. The “different” green color mentioned by Mark in his comment is the only potential issue and is likely to only be of concern to those refereeing at higher level youth or adult matches.
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