By Alexandra Enberg
IZMIR, Türkiye (AA) - Adidas will block the No. 44 on Germany's EURO 2024 football shirts over concerns that it resembles the Nazi SS emblem, the Austrian daily Kronen Zeitung reported.
"We will block the number 44 as quickly as possible," Adidas spokesperson Oliver Bruggen said Monday.
Bruggen said the German sports apparel brand has employees from "100 different nations" and supports diversity and works "actively against xenophobia, anti-Semitism, violence and hatred in all forms."
"Historically speaking, it is very questionable to allow such jerseys for the home European Championship," historian Michael Konig wrote on X, referring to the No. 44 font and its resemblance to the symbol of the Nazi regime’s notorious SS.
Germany’s new jerseys for the EURO 2024, announced by the German Bundesliga last month, "reflect the new generation of German football fans and the diversity of the country.”
None of the German players will wear number 44, but the 44 jersey had been available for order from the Adidas website.
Symbols associated with Nazism were banned in Germany at the end of World War II, including the SS symbol of two lightning bolts.
The EURO 2024 will start in Germany on June 14.
The tournament hosts, Germany, had a 70-year partnership with Adidas, with Nike set to take over in 2027.