Adidas bans Germany fans from buying number 44 kits over Nazi symbolism

Adidas have removed the number 44 from Germany’s shirt due to concerns over Nazi symbolism and insist they are ‘against violence and hatred in all forms’.

Germany host Euro 2024 this summer but their Adidas-designed kit went viral on social media for all the wrong reasons with fans highlighting the vital design flaw.

The number 44 on Germany’s shirt has some resemblance to the symbol used by World War Two-era Nazi Schutzstaffel (SS) units. The SS played a central role in the Gestapo, Hitler’s secret police, and the Holocaust, where millions of Jews and others were put to death in extermination camps.

Adidas ‘strongly reject any suggestions’ it was intentional and have decided to block personalisation of shirts, banning fans from buying kits with the number 44, while they also claim that the DFB are the ones responsible for the controversy.