Holstein Kiel: jersey ensures network debate about Reich war flag

Copyright: picture alliance/dpa

Fabian Resse (right) and Jann-Fiete Arp in last year’s jersey from Holstein Kiel on April 23, 2022 in the second division game against FC Heidenheim. The successor dress caused discussions after its presentation on Twitter.

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Jersey fuss in the 2nd Bundesliga. After the presentation, Holstein Kiel’s new home kit caused a stir on social media. The club responded to the debate the following day.

Summer break means jersey time! Clubs around the world are currently presenting their kits for the new season, and fans are either enthusiastic or disappointed, or at least there is a need for discussion about the new kit for their favorites.

On Monday (June 20, 2022) second division club Holstein Kiel experienced how quickly the mood can change from anticipation to indignation.

The club had presented their new jerseys full of euphoria, but suddenly had to justify the design of the home version.

Holstein Kiel: Jersey causes fan discussions

What happened? As usual, in 2022/2023 KSV will be hunting for points in the 2nd Bundesliga in their home colors blue, white and red in their home Holstein stadium. However, the design made many viewers suspicious.

Here you can see the new jerseys of Holstein Kiel:

Because the dark blue in the shoulder area above a white and a red bar showed a certain resemblance to the Reich war flag from the Nazi era, at least at first glance. This quickly became clear when looking at the comments.

Holstein Kiel reacts to the war flag accusation

“I do not get it. Doesn’t anyone look over it again and say, ‘We should think again about whether we really want to print a Reich flag on our jerseys’?” wrote one user. Many posts went in a similar direction.

The club responded to the fuss on Tuesday (June 21) and accepted Twitter position on the debate. “Thank you for your feedback on our new jersey. Tastes are always different. We not only took note of the positive, but also the critical voices…” the Kielers wrote in a first tweet and then went into more detail about the allegations.

“At this point we would like to make it clear that we distance ourselves from any form of racism or right-wing ideas. The colors of our jersey are blue, white and red: the colors of Schleswig-Holstein. This can also be clearly seen in the original.”

Holstein Kiel: Fans discuss the choice of color for the new home jersey

If you take a magnifying glass over the details of the new jersey design in the fan shop, you can clearly see that the design may look unfortunate from a distance, but it is undoubtedly a dark shade of blue and not the black of the Reichskriegsflagge.

Copyright: Screenshot holstein-fanshop.de

Screenshot from the Holstein Kiel fan shop with a detailed view of the new jersey. Clearly recognizable: The upper area is kept in a dark blue.

Accordingly, the northern lights have not made any efforts to adjust the long-planned jersey again. There was also approval for this in the comments on social media.

“The top is blue, but keep spinning your Reichskriegsflaggen narrative,” wrote one user. Another user responded sarcastically to the detailed view with the clearly visible blue hue: “Objectivity has no place here. People look black and out.” (bc)

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