The German company Adidas forbade football fans to buy German national teams with number 44. Earlier, several media outlets have paid attention to the fact that the combination of these two digits and the font they were applied to the T -shirt is very reminiscent of the Nazi SS.
Adidas official Oliver Bruggen said that the company would no longer sell T-shirts with this number, but stated that any coincidence with Nazi past Germany was unintentional.
"As a company, we adhere to the policy of counteracting xenophobia, anti-Semitism, violence and hatred in any form," he said.
Adidas also informed the Air Force that the design of a T -shirt, including a font for numbers, was developed by the German Football Union (DFB) and its partners.
DFB explained on the social network X (former Twitter) that the design of the sports form of the German national football team was first sent to UEFA for approval, and "none of the participants of the process saw any coincidence with Nazi symbols."
The Football Union added that the number 4 will now develop a new font.
The first about the similarity of the number 44 in the form of the German national team with the symbol of the SS was written by historian Michael Kenig. In his post in X, he stated that such a design "raises great questions from a historical point of view" especially in the year when Germany would participate in the European Football Championship.
The SS fleece was developed in 1929, and it was used by Nazi paramilitary formations. Later, during the Second World War, SS units actively participated in many crimes of the Nazi regime, including the mass murder of Jews in death camps.
The new form of the German football team was also criticized for the fact that its option for guest matches had a bright pink color. The authors of this idea say they wanted to emphasize the cultural diversity of Germany, but critics consider it that contradicts traditions and is desired to attract funding for DFB.
Adidas has made a form for Germany's football national team since the 1950s.
But recently, the German Football Association has decided to give up Adidas since 2027 and switch to the form of Nike. German Minister Robert Habek called this step "non -patriotic".
In the summer of Germany, the European Football Championship will be held in Germany, and the matches will be held in ten different cities of the country.
