Adidas bans number 44 from German football kits because of the Nazi SS symbol

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Adidas has banned German football fans from personalizing shirts with the number 44 because it resembles the symbol used by Nazi SS units of the Second World War.

The Schutzstaffel Group of the Nazi parties, commonly known as the SS, was a paramilitary organization of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich that ran concentration camps during the Holocaust.

And the German Football Federation has now stopped supplying shirts with the number ordered via its online platform and is looking for an alternative design for the number 4 together with partner 11teamsport.

The federation said the designs were submitted to the UEFA Champions League during the shirt design process.

“None of the parties involved saw any proximity to Nazi symbolism in the shirt design development process,” the German Football Association (DFB) said on X, formerly Twitter.

Concerns that the shirt's design meant the number 44 resembled the SS were first raised by historian Michael Knig, who said the kit's design was highly questionable.

Historically, it is very questionable to allow such jerseys for the European home championship, he said.

Adidas spokesman Oliver Bruggen said the similarity was not intentional and that the federation and 11teamsports were jointly responsible for the design of the names and numbers on the shirts.

“Adidas employs people from about 100 countries,” says Mr. Bruggen. “Our company is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion, and as a company we actively campaign against xenophobia, anti-Semitism, violence and hatred in all forms.

“Any attempt to promote divisive or exclusionary views is not part of our values ​​as a brand,” he added.

The newly released kits had already sparked a debate in Germany over the choice of pink away shirts, intended to celebrate the country's diversity.

The stylized, slanted SS symbol remains banned in Germany. It was designed in 1929 and became a symbol of some of the most egregious atrocities committed by the Nazis. Members of the SS were tasked with overseeing concentration camps, interrogating suspected traitors, and operating extermination camps such as Auschwitz, where more than a million people were killed.

It comes as Germany hosts the European Championship from June 14 to July 14.

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