The African Confederation Cup semi-final match between Renaissance Belkan and Algerian team USM Algiers has been canceled for the second consecutive week due to a dispute over the map on the Moroccan team's uniform.
AFP Sport looks at three other controversies arising from controversial choices over playing kits.
-Comparison of “Nazis”-
The German Football Association (DFB) has changed the typeface used on its uniforms after one of its jersey numbers was compared to a Nazi symbol.
The problem was the number “4” on the national team's uniform. The number 44 was at the center of controversy and was said to resemble the Nazi SS insignia.
When the issue surfaced in early April, the DFB stated that “no one involved recognized any similarities to Nazi symbolism in the production process.”
Despite this, he added that the sports body had no intention of “providing a forum for discussion”.
Kit provider Adidas has since removed the shirt strip personalization option from its website, German daily Bild reported.
– English flag flak gun –
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak joined the queue in March wearing a new Nike-designed England football shirt featuring a recolored St George's cross, saying the flag “shouldn't be messed with”.
The US sportswear giant has changed the look of England's flag cross using purple and blue horizontal stripes in what it calls a “playful update” to its shirts ahead of Euro 2024.
Nike and the Football Association said the color on the back of the collar differs from the traditional white red cross and was inspired by the training kit worn by England's 1966 World Cup winning team.
However, this decision provoked a fierce backlash.
“My general opinion is that when it comes to the flag, we shouldn't mess with it, because it's a source of pride, identity and who we are, and it's perfect just the way it is,” Sunak said. Ta.
Nike said it “in no way intended to offend” but did not indicate any plans to change the design.
– Beyond the Rainbow –
In 2023, several French athletes refused to take part in an initiative organized by the country's top two divisions to support the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.
The plan was to play in a jersey with a rainbow number on it.
The United States Federation of Professional Soccer Players said it was not the players' responsibility to convey a “collective message.”
Toulouse excluded players who did not want to wear the uniform.
The club's Moroccan defender Zakaria Abukral said on Twitter: “Respect is a value that I hold very dear. It applies to others, but it also includes respect for my own personal beliefs. Therefore , I don't think this person is the best fit.'' Please join this campaign. ”
AFP
