The new shirt, which the German football players will wear during the upcoming European Championship in their own country, was presented by shirt maker Adidas at the end of last month.
Although no player plays in the team with jersey number 44, fans could choose a name and jersey number on the Adidas website.
Atrocities
It was noticeable that the number 44 is very similar to the SS logo. That organization was responsible for countless atrocities during the time the Nazis were in power in Germany.
The similarity has caused a lot of commotion in Germany in recent days. After the swastika, the SS runes are the best-known symbol of National Socialism.
Out of business
An Adidas spokesperson informed the German tabloid Bild today that the shirt with this shirt number will no longer be sold: “We will block the number 44 as soon as possible.”
The German Football Association (DFB) informed the newspaper that it had not previously known about the striking similarity. “However, the association also makes it unmistakably clear that it distances itself from all right-wing ideas and that the number 44 will not be used by the DFB,” Bild said.
A week ago there was also a fuss about the shirt of the German football team. It was then announced that from 2027, not the German Adidas, but the American Nike will supply the shirts for the German football players. This brings to an end a collaboration of more than seventy years.
