Manchester United have banned their players from wearing colourful boots.
The Daily Mail says United and Sunderland have banned their young players from wearing outlandish coloured boots and made them wear traditional black instead.
Sunderland boss Steve Bruce says young players should earn the right to wear coloured boots, and supports the policy adopted by his club's academy directors, Ged McNamee and Kevin Ball, which insists parents buy only black.
Bruce's views are echoed by Sir Alex Ferguson at United, where academy graduates are given black Nike boots with studs and no blades. Middlesbrough have a similar arrangement with adidas and Everton also apply a black boots policy at their academy.
Bruce said: "It's like sweets in a shop. The brighter the boots, the more kids want them, but let's face it, coloured boots are just a gimmick. They do not make anyone play any better, nor any worse.
"The view that Ged and Bally have taken, which is spot on, is that you earn the right to wear boots of any colour when you get in the first team squad, or earn yourself a sponsorship deal. Then things can change.
"When they come into the academy it is more about being different with the way you play on the pitch, and gaining attention that way, not with what you wear."
