Germany: Football Shirt Controversy
By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
Once again, a new football shirt has given rise to controversy.
This time the shirt is for the German national team for the 2024 Euros and features a customised number 44, which, it is claimed, resembles the symbol used by the Second World War Nazi SS Units.
Members of the SS included Gestapo agents and concentration camp guards, who were involved in death camps in which millions of Jews and others were killed.
The new kits have also caused controversy because of their choice of bright pink for the away colours.
A spokesman for ADIDAS, the manufacturers of the shirts, remarked:
“We as a company are committed to opposing xenophobia, anti-Semitism, violence and hatred in every form.”
The German Football Association (DFB) was responsible for the design of the numbers on the shirts and stated that the shirt designs had been submitted to UEFA, for review, and that “none of the parties involved saw any proximity to Nazi symbolism.”
For pictures of the shirt and the SS symbol, see: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/adidas-nazi-german-football-shirt-european-championships-jersey-b1148846.html.
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘
