Adidas retires Germany’s 44 shirt: it recalls the Nazi SS

The number 44 recalls one of the darkest Nazi symbols, social media goes wild, and the Germany shirt with that number it will be collected. She announced it Adidaswho explained to Dpa through company spokesperson Oliver Brüggen that he had “blocked the customization of t-shirts in our online shop”. In the new design of the shirt created by the manufacturer for Euro 2024, the number 44 recalls the graphic symbols of the ‘Schutzstaffel’ (the infamous SS) of the Nazi period.

Adidas supporting inclusion

Adidas also explained that “the German Football Association (DFB) and its partner 11teamsports are responsible for the design of the names and numbers. People from around 100 nations work at Adidas – continued Brüggen –. Our company supports the promotion of diversity and inclusion and as a company we actively oppose xenophobia, anti-semitism, violence and hatred in any form.” The company insisted that “any attempt to promote controversial or exclusive views is not part” of its values ​​as a brand, and “firmly” rejected any comments that this was Adidas’ intention.

German Football Federation: “The shirt had been approved by UEFA”

The German Football Federation submitted the numbering “from 1 to 26” of the national team shirts “for UEFA approval” and the control was passed. When it emerged that the number 44 was “similar to a symbol used by the Nazis”, it was immediately “blocked” on fan shops. When it was pointed out on social media that ’44’ was similar to a symbol used by the Nazis, we immediately took this information into consideration and blocked this number in our fan shops,” the German Football Association explained, adding that the number ’88’ – which corresponds to the letters HH and is juxtaposed with the ‘Heil Hitler’ salute “is always stuck”. “None of the parties involved in the process of creating the shirt’s design saw any resemblance to Nazi symbolism. But just the public discussion on the fact that there could be a visual proximity is enough to start a process of change”, she further explained Dfbadding that it was “in dialogue with ’11Teamsport’ to develop an alternative design for the graphics of the number four and then adapt it officially in coordination with UEFA”.