Germany to redesign numbers on soccer team shirts amid controversy over links to Nazi symbols

(CNN) — German football officials will redesign the number “4” on the country’s national team jersey following complaints that it resembles the logo used by Nazi paramilitary units.

The German Football Federation (DFB) created Advertisement The similarity to the Schutzstaffel, or SS, logo was noticed on Monday when social media users began using an online jersey customization service to create a jersey bearing the number “44.”

In a statement published on. The association said it was taking the matter “very seriously” and was developing an “alternative design” for the number.

Although 44 is not currently used by the German men’s or women’s national teams, official kit supplier Adidas allows customers to personalize the jersey with numbers from 00 to 99 and names of up to 10 letters. The resulting images generated by the Adidas online store were widely spread across the Internet.

According to Reuters, Adidas spokesman Oliver Bruggen previously told German media that the sportswear giant would “block the number 44 as soon as possible,” adding: “As a company we actively combat xenophobia, “Protest anti-Semitism, violence and hatred.” Form”.

As of Tuesday, the option to customize the German national team jersey was removed from Adidas websites, although it exists for other countries’ uniforms. Adidas did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment on its decision or whether the customization service will return without No. 4.

At the end of March, the DFB presented Germany’s new uniforms, which will be worn by both the men’s and women’s teams. The men’s team debuted the shirts during the match against France, and they will be used at Euro 2024, which Germany will host this summer.

Less than two weeks ago, the DFB announced that Nike would replace Adidas as the official jersey supplier of the German national football team from 2027. Adidas has produced the country’s jerseys since the 1950s, during which period the men’s national team (either as Germany or West Germany) has won four World Cups.

Adidas’ decision to stop customizing the jerseys comes after many people on social media pointed out the similarity of the numbers with the controversial SS insignia.

The SS was founded by Adolf Hitler and described as the “political soldiers” of the Nazi Party.

He handled various police, security and military functions, including supervision of the Gestapo. When the Nazis came to power, they had grown from a small unit of less than 300 people to an organization of over 50,000. He was later linked to some of the worst crimes committed by the Nazis during World War II, including the management of concentration camps such as Auschwitz.

The group’s lightning bolt logo was designed by German graphic designer Walter Heck, who later joined the SS after serving as commander of the Nazi paramilitary wing, the Sturmabteilung (SA).

Like many Nazi symbols, the Heck logo was not based on ancient runes (as Hitler often alludes to in mythology), but rather on a pseudo-rune created by Austrian occultist Guido von List in the early 20th century. The logo was so widely used at the time that some German typewriters were made with a stylized “SS” key.