Adidas bans Germany football fans from buying number 44 kit over resemblance to Nazi symbol
1 April 2024, 21:45 | Updated: 1 April 2024, 21:51
Adidas has banned Germany football fans from purchasing the national team's kit emblazoned with the number 44 following an outcry over its resemblance to a Nazi symbol.
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Social media users pointed out following the kit's release that the font design on the number 44 jersey bears a resemblance to the Nazi Schutzstaffel's (SS) lightning bolts insignia. The symbol is now banned in Germany.
"We will block personalisation of the jerseys," an Adidas spokesman confirmed.
The SS was a paramilitary organisation that aided Adolf Hitler's rise to power. The group was then responsible for a huge proportion of the crimes against humanity committed by the Nazis in the 1930s and 40s, including the murder of millions of Jewish people during the Holocaust.
Adidas also confirmed the number 4 shirt will also have its font changed due to a resemblance to another symbol used by the Hitler Youth.
Adidas spokesman Oliver Brüggen denied that the kit was designed intentionally to resemble the Nazi symbols.
"We as a company are committed to opposing xenophobia, anti-Semitism, violence and hatred in every form," he said in a statement.
The German Football Association (DFB) and its partners were the ones who designed the shirt number font, Adidas told the BBC.
A DFB said in a post on X that the shirt design had been submitted to UEFA which controls the running of the European Championships
"None of the parties involved saw any proximity to Nazi symbolism," the statement said.
Adidas has manufactured kits for Germany's national team since the 1950s. Nike will take over the manufacturing contract in 2027.
The decision to switch to American company Nike has been controversial within Germany, with Economy Minister Robert Habeck saying it lacks "patriotism".
Germany is the host of this year's European Championships. The tournament will take place in 10 major cities.
Read More: ‘It was never our intention to offend’: Nike defends change to St George’s Cross on new England Kit
Read More: Keir Starmer calls for Nike to scrap England football kit with 'updated' St George's Cross
This is not the only kit to cause controversy ahead of the Euros, following a row over an "updated" St George's Cross on the collar of England's home shirt.
Kit manufacturer Nike sparked outrage over the home shirt design, which features an altered cross using purple and blue horizontal stripes in what it called a "playful update".
Some England fans were upset by the change, and Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer waded into the row.
The company said the colours were inspired by the training kit worn by England's 1966 World Cup winners.
