By It seems England will not be the only team playing at Euro 2024 in a controversial kit after eagle-eyed fans spotted a Nazi-like logo while customising their shirts.
One Germany fan took to Twitter last night to raise concern that when the number 44 was printed on the front and back of the home shirt it bared a striking resemblance to the logo worn by Nazi SS officers during the Second World War.
While no players at the tournament will be wearing the number as the squad is numbered from 1 to 26, fans still have the option to choose any number from one to 99 and the number four is almost certain to be worn at Euro 2024, which Germany is hosting.
The numbers are also in a similar design on the team’s away kit but they do not resemble the logo as closely.
German UNESCO historian Michael König said in a Twitter post: “Historically it is very questionable to allow such jerseys for the home European Championship.”
Many were quick to respond to his post and compare it to the furore over the new England home kit, which prompted fury after designers changed the colour of the flag of St George.
One reply read: “Got a feeling that this may be slightly worse than Nike changing the colour of the St George Cross.”
Another added: “How do they not see the SS symbol?”
The shirt will be the last Adidas will make for the German National Team having produced its kit since the 1950s as Nike takes over after the Euros.
It is not the first time the company has been involved in Nazi-related controversy after Kanye West was dropped by Adidas after he allegedly told one of the company’s Jewish executives to “hang a photo of Hitler in his kitchen and kiss it every day to practice unconditional love”.
And football fans were quick to make the correlation, with one tweeting: “Was nice of them to allow Kanye to design one more thing before they parted ways.”
It comes after the England home shirt’s redesigned flag prompted fury from fans and politicians from Rishi Sunak to Keir Starmer.
An Adidas statement read: “The DFB and its partner 11teamsports are responsible for the design of the names and numbers. We have blocked personalisation of the jerseys in our online store.
“People from around 100 nations work at Adidas, our company stands for the promotion of diversity and inclusion, and as a company we actively campaign against xenophobia, anti-Semitism, violence, and hatred in all forms.
“Any attempts to promote divisive or exclusionary views are not part of our values as a brand and we strongly reject any suggestions that this was our intention. Our company stands for promoting diversity and inclusion.”
