Why do footballers cut holes in their socks?

England won their first match at the Euros last night (June 16), but there's one particular item of the clothing on the players that has left some viewers confused.

The Three Lions won their opening game against Serbia, thanks to a goal from Jude Bellingham in the 13th minute and are currently top of Group C (though it's early days with more matches to come).

While social media users celebrated Bellingham's goal, others were confused as to why the Real Madrid player's socks had holes cut into them.

"What's with the holes in the socks?!?" one person asked on X, formerly Twitter.

Another person posted: "Can't imagine how many kids are gonna get a b******ing from their mum's for cutting holes in the back of their socks like Jude Bellingham.

"Can someone please explain to me why some England players have holes in the back of their socks??" someone else questioned.

(Left) England's Declan Rice with Jude Bellingham (right) who has holes in his socks the calves area . Photo by Eddie Keogh - The FA/The FA via Getty Images

"Millions of mums across England tomorrow: 'I don't care if Jude Bellingham does it, you are NOT cutting holes in a perfectly good pair of socks,'" a fourth person commented.

So what the reason for cutting holes in the socks?

As football socks can be quite a tight fit, this isn't the most comfortable for players so therefore this can cause problems due to the pressure it creates in their muscles, affecting circulation and possibly result in long term issues.

Movement can also be restricted as a result of this pressure, particularly when running at full stretch.

By cutting holes in socks around the calves area can help to combat these problems and help with range and breathability.

England and Man City player Kyle Walker previously revealed in 2021 why he and other players opt to cut their socks, citing the reasons as stated above,

"The socks were actually too tight so it was causing pressure on my calves. [It was] just to release my calves - or release the tension," he told SPORTbible.

"I just cut holes in them and all of a sudden I had a few alright games, and I was like, 'Ok, I'm keeping this now!'"

England's next match is against Denmark on Thursday (June 20), where you can spot which players have cut holes into their socks.

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